Disheartening Memories
by Hikatokage
Summary: The tale of a group of hunters, this is the start of a long adventure, a backstory if you will. This story will introduce our beloved characters and how they cope with the harsh world that is infested with creatures that are known to destroy any man-made structures in mere seconds if given the chance.
1. Chapter 1: Fading memories

**AN: Keep in mind that this is the prequel to "Kuraun Hunters!" and I will say that Disheartening Memories, isn't as good as the chapters in its sequel (due to not having as much experience).**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own creations, everything goes to their rightful owners. English also isn't my main language, but that shouldn't be an issue at the very least, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Blizzard Ishi-ryoku POV**

"Alright, looks like I'm set and ready to head out."

Today I'm bringing my newly made Charge Blade along with me, I was planning on honing my skills with the weapon so I might as well use it more.

"Good luck boss!" A small cheery voice was heard underneath me.

I look down to my house keeper felyne. "Thank you Momo, I'll be back before dark." I recently received an invitation, specifically from an old friend.

"I swear, she wouldn't need my help if it wasn't for the fact she's _so_ set on using the Hammer on a Deviljho."

My friend said we would meet up at the assembly and grab something to eat before we head off, I'm not complaining, It's been awhile since we had the chance to sit down and eat together.

' _I'll have to say sorry to her before splitting ways once more_...'

I pass a mirror and made sure I was presentable, my platinum hair glimmering as the sunlight poured through my window.  
I also noticed dark bags underneath my azure eyes, mostly due to having nightmares for the past few days.

' _Alright, time to move out, can't keep Jenny waiting.'_

I soon see the entrance of the assembly as I walk through the large crowd of Dundorma's citizens.

As I step into the assembly my nose picks up the unpleasant odor of smoke and alcohol, I did manage to see who I was looking for luckily, she was looking at the quest board.

I walk towards the figure and sure enough, a huntress using a Shagaru Magala Hammer and unmistakable blonde hair was waiting for me.

"Hey, Jenny!" I call out to the huntress as I approach, Jenny turns around excitably upon hearing my voice and greets me with a smile in her usual energetic way.

"Hey, Blizzy! I'm so glad to see you again!" She jogs over to me and closes the distances between us in a flash.

"Likewise, " I responded as she gave me an awkward one arm hug, Jenny then leads me over to the quest board.

"Here the quest we're going to take." Jenny hands me over the piece of paper that said a Deviljho was spotted in the local ever-woods; quickly realizing G-Rank symbol.

"Alright, seems simple enough." I carefully fold the approved paper and store it in my side bag.

"Sweet! However, we're eating together before departing cause I'm starving!" She giggles lightly, which in turn causes me to shake my head in response to her energetic personality.

"Whoa, I just realized! Is that a new Charge blade?" She tries to reach out and grab it but I slap her hands away.

"Yes, and you shouldn't touch it." I scold the blonde who was now pouting.

"It's made from Shagaru parts, in other words, dangerous to touch, Jenny." A word that she seemed to never understand.

She just shrugs it off and laughs as we go and sit down at the first row tables, nearest to the quest manager.

"Serious as always! You never change Blizzy." Jenny caught the attention of the waiter, and so we ordered our food.

Small talk was kept alive between us, allowing us to catch up with one another, since its been around two months since I left the guild.

Soon enough we receive our meal and ate in silence, the sooner we finished, the more sun light we had for today's hunt.

* * *

"So, I heard the ride over to the Ever-woods will take around an hour," Jenny hands me over a whetstone as she says this. "Might as well polish your weapon while we wait!"

I nod and give her my thanks, we jump into the rented cart that was filled with hay, the reason was so that we could sit in it and rest peacefully as we wait for it to take us to the Ever-woods.

Soon after the cart started moving, I could sense Jenny's anxious aura, as if she wanted to speak about something forbidden.

"So like, the guild wants you to come back." Jenny suddenly says out of nowhere.

I stop my polishing and look back at her with confusion evident on my face.

"Why would they want me back?" I said back to her in a rather aggressive tone.

Jenny gives me a worried look, before speaking with a solemn face. "Cause we're worried about you, It's been awhile since you last went there. Everybody looks up to you as the second in command, losing you has taken a toll on _everyone_."

I stayed silent and allowed some time to carefully pick my words.

 _'Sure I was there when the guild was made, but that doesn't mean I'm more important than others_.' Groups have always made me nervous, not because I put myself on a high pedestal, but because I'm afraid of messing up again.

- _Memories of a young man dying before my eyes, flashes before me, the illusion was all too real and it made me feel nauseous._ -

"Hey, I know what you're thinking; trust me, I been there," Jenny had reached out for my hand and held it in hers.

"But I know for a fact that being depressed won't change anything, you'll burn yourself out if you don't realize how much stress you're currently in." The usual energetic blonde had now been replaced with a person of wisdom and experience.

I look back up to Jenny chestnut colored eyes, they were filled with determination to bring me back, and in all honesty, I was going to come back after I had time to myself.

However, this situation is different, I somewhat know of Jenny's past; so I can relate to her feelings a bit.

"Okay, I'll come back to the guild." Jenny lets out a sigh of relief upon hearing my words.

Sadly, I just said that in order to make her stop talking about the topic for now.

I soon realize my whetstone snaps in two as I was fighting with unpleasant thoughts.

"Haha, here." Jenny hands me a new one and I start polishing the axe portion of my Charge Blade.

"Man, polishing a Charge Blade must suck! My good old Hammer just needs to be round and have a few checkups with good old doctor Blacksmith!"

I nod in agreement. "Yea, you need to polish the sword and the axe in order to keep it in good conditions"

Jenny lets out a small chuckle. "Man, good thing we have a long road ahead of us."

She quickly gives me a sincere look of apology. "I'm going to take a nap, I just hate waiting."

I just wave my hand and dismissed her worries. "I really don't mind, I'll probably take a quick nap as well."

In reality, I was planning on staying awake for the rest of the trip and have some time to think things through.

Jenny nods in understanding and starts getting comfortable in the cart.

"Alright then, nighty night." She waves her hand in a sloppy manner and smiles as she closes her eyes.

"Good night, Jenny…" I look up and see the sun shining as bright as ever, I can't help but smile at the fact that she made me say that at this hour.

The teen was sleeping peacefully after a few seconds. "I hope everything will turn out okay," I mutter these words under my breath.

Without my companion to distract me, memories of my difficult past start to haunt me once more. I envy Jenny, the blonde had a dark history and yet she was able to hide any emotions of despair underneath a layer of happiness and false emotions.

I was always the observant one, I could somewhat guess when someone was not being honest by just staring into their eyes, Jenny was one of these so-called dishonest people.  
When I closed my eyes, I could picture her chestnut eyes, they were always emotionless like a statue when talking about memories related to her childhood...

' _Jenny's eyes remind me of myself...'_ I remember the mirror I stared into before departing, my eyes gave no emotion and I knew that it was true.

I just shrug these feelings away and decided it was best to leave them for another day, I receive too much stress these days, just because I been hunting for so long doesn't mean I'm perfect.

I look over to Jenny's and see her sleeping peaceful, with her small body moving up and down occasionally because of the cart wheels hitting a rock.

"..?" My eyebrows rise in confusion and curiosity, Jenny had a sad look on her face while she slept.

Most likely due to a nightmare related to any hellish memory us Hunters tend to develop over time.  
Either that or she remembered the time that Beowulf – our so-called Guild-master – tried to sweet talk her into a date.

I look outwards of the cart and realize that we reached the outer layer of the Ever-woods, a huge lake with crystal clear water, and waterfalls here and there; the structures in the water are what mostly stand out in this area.  
Most of them are statues are some kind of creature, but others are pillars and Man-made rocks of many different sizes.

The locals _and_ on the map call this place, 'The lake of ancient memories'.

I reach out and shake Jenny's body gently, she starts mumbling something about Hammers in response to my attempt of waking her.

Shaking my head, I keep trying to wake her.

"Mmm-ugh, are we there yet?" Jenny woke up and started rubbing her eyes.

I hand her a container of water and nod. "Yup we reached the the lake, so might as well get ready"

Jenny takes the container and takes a drink "Sweet! Can't wait to hunt!" The blonde yells excitably.

"Looks like you never change either, just be careful." I start preparing my belongings.

Jenny just smiles and gives me a thumbs up. "No need to worry!"

' _That's when I worry the most...'_ A sigh escapes my mouth but went unnoticed by the teen.

* * *

Finally reaching a complete stop, we start packing the things that we'll take with us.  
The rest of the materials we won't need are left in a box at the camp site, the good thing about a quest in the Ever-woods is that we don't have a time limit, due to its vast size.  
So the Guild sends us extra materials in order to survive a few nights before we call it quits and head back.

As for myself, I was waiting for Jenny to put on her Ukanlos armor, which didn't take her long as I heard armor clanking getting louder and louder.

"Well, I'm ready!" Jenny says this as her fist pumps the air.

"Likewise, let's head out." I gave out the order and we start walking out of the camp site and into the woods.

Only footsteps were heard as we walk through the forest trail in silence.

"So, got any plans?"I heard Jenny speak from behind.

I just shrug in response. "Just hit it till it dies."

"Awesome, just how I like it! I'm going to smash its skull wide open" I just shrug at her crazy and full of energy persona.

Looking up ahead, I spot some Aptonoths, but they were acting odd.

' _The poor things are running from something'_ I concluded as I saw them panic.

"Hey, the Aptonoths are being chased by something." As I hear Jenny voiced out my thoughts.

"Get ready..." I warn her of the incoming danger.

The stampede ran pass us, and soon the forest went back to silence.

"..." The tension was building up as my eyes searched the surrounding area.

All of a sudden the ground shakes and the earth splits in half between Jenny and me.

"What the-!?" Jenny's voice was cut off as we roll out of the alarming danger.

I turn around and stand my ground, there it was, Deviljho the Brute Wyvern.

Brute wyverns usually have strong legs and long tails, but really short arms. The only Brute wyvern with decent length arms is the Brachydios, who in this case, can use them for offense and defense.

"Looks like we found Mr. Deviljho! Or how I like to call him, ' _The walking Pickle!_ '"

I ignore Jenny and stare right at the Devil's eye as a sign of challenging him. "Time to hunt."

I take out my Charge blade in its sword and shield form and maintain a defensive stance, having my right leg forward along with my right arm holding up the shield; meanwhile, my left foot planted on the ground behind me along with my left arm holding my blade.

The Deviljho lets out a powerful roar, said screech was strong enough to make me hide behind my shield in order to avoid my ears getting damaged.

Jenny, on the other hand, was wearing earplugs, which gave her the perfect opportunity to strike.

"HEY! Ya ugly pickle! Shut up and let out a cry of pain instead!" Jenny runs up to the creature and slams her hammer on its leg two times and does a powerful Rock-Thrower. The Deviljho does indeed let out a cry of pain but also falls down on its side, blessing an opening to those around it.

Taking full advantage of this situation, I dash to the Brute Wyvern's face.

The monster, upon seeing me starts biting furiously at the air near me.

I hold my left arm back and wait for the blade to charge up, soon enough I feel the heat emitting from the blade.  
I react to this signal and slash its face with two powerful blows; one as an uppercut and the other one as a vertical slash, I follow up with a spin and land a third horizontal blow across its eye.

My blade had cut deep enough to leaves a scar on the Deviljho's left eye.

The creature showed signs of standing up, however, I wasn't done just yet.

The previous spin attack if perform correctly leads up to one last hit, I thrust the part of the shield where the blade goes, into the monster's mouth and pulled the trigger.

The explosion sent Deviljho's head reeling backwards, the brute quickly used the momentum for a lung attack that I saw coming a mile away, a graceful dodge was enough to position myself back to safety.

"Nice Job, Blizzard!" Jenny runs up to the Deviljho who's now a few feet away from me.

The large brute was clearly in pain… But at the same time, I can see the Deviljho changing colors.

"Jenny! It's entering Rage mode! Get out of there!" The blonde stops in her tracks and starts running towards me.

The Deviljho lets out a furious roar, It's back had swollen up and turned red, scars it had gotten from previous fights started glowing a dark crimson red.

It was evident what the creature was going for after taking a few steps back.

"Jenny, get behind me!" I run as fast as possible to get her behind my shield before it's too late, I can see the Deviljho putting its head at ground level and opening its mouth.

Everything happened so fast, I managed to get Jenny behind my shield but right at the same time, felt a powerful force hitting against it.  
A dark cloud of draconic discharge had a direct impact with my shield. "Hang in there!" Jenny held my hips in order to maintain our footing.

The Deviljho stops and roars in anger, but little did it know the situation it put itself in.

"The most common thing about a brute wyvern? They are completely stupid." I grin as I could feel my shield absorbing the energy.

Jenny laughs in agreement. "Ready? Your shield is glowing, so I assume its ready for some destructive attacks."

I nod and start putting my blade into the shield in order summon its axe mode.

"Yo, I got a plan! It might sound crazy but you gotta trust me!" Jenny gives me a smug smile and starts explaining the plan…

"You're completely nuts and stupid," I respond to her idea.

Jenny just gives me a thumbs up and nods. "Yes, I am. I'm also damn proud of it! Just hurry up and do it, the Deviljho is charging right at us!"

I turn immediately and what Jenny said was right, the brute was charging at us, earth shaking underneath the weight of its steps.

' _Ugh, whatever, don't blame me if you get killed'_ There wasn't any time to second guess this plan.

Following the plan, I plant my axe into the ground behind me, Jenny then stands on the dull part of my weapon, while also grabbing my shoulder with one hand and carving knife in the other.

"NOW!" At her command, I muster all my might and swing the axe over my head.

Right before sending Jenny flying towards the Deviljho, I had to pull the trigger, this made an explosion at the base of the axe where she was standing. Causing Jenny to fly at high speeds and high enough to land on the Deviljho's back.

Jenny then stabs the Carving Knife as deep as possible into its back before she slips off.

"Ahaha! I got you now ya ugly pickle!" I stand there in shock as I see Jenny mount the monster.

Deviljho is putting up quite the fight, shaking and tossing around, it roars and spins trying its hardest to knock out the Konchu on its back.

' _Actually, I think Jenny would be worst then a Konchu.'_ I allow myself to smile a bit.

I observe as the Deviljho finally stops in order to catch its breath, Jenny starts stabbing the spinal core of the creature.

'..!' I noticed Deviljho's right knee bending.

I run towards the knee and swing my axe while also pulling the charge trigger, – Charge Phials started flying outwards – It hits the knee and causes an explosion.

' _I only have 3 more charge phials_.' I re-position myself as the brute wyvern started falling under its own weight, Jenny falls off as it fell and landed near me.

"Alright! Let's get that head!" Jenny runs ahead as I walk slowly towards the head.

"On it… This axe isn't exactly light…" I mutter a bit annoyed.

Jenny lands a full basic combo, as I sent a phial flying towards it head with a side strike; using the momentum to swing my axe around me twice.  
Before the second phial ran out, the second swing was fast enough to get a free strike onto its head.

' _That makes 3 Explosions… Right, time to end this!_ ' I grit my teeth as I lift my weapon.

"Alright! Time for the finisher Liz!" Jenny gets ready to do an Earth-Shaker, as I pull my axe behind my head and start charging the last Phial.

This made it enter into super-mode, making the charge unstable but stronger.

I slam the axe as hard as possible onto the Deviljho's skull and Jenny lands the Earth-Shaker attack dead on.

We then roll to our sides before the phials explode, in a second before Deviljho got back onto its feet, the phials exploded and daze him into a KO state

Jenny and I continued our barrage of attacks again, switching to my sword and shield form, I went for my basic slashes in order to fill up the phials again.  
Jenny starts the Cyclone attack, using her body as a pole, she managed to land all five spin attacks and the strong finisher at the sixth spin.

The Deviljho starts getting up but loses its rage mode, it switches to its hunger state, but a Deviljho gets more dangerous in this phase; the saliva that it starts drooling is enough to burn through armor with ease.

It suddenly flings itself forward in order to try and bite my head off, quick reactions allowed me to shield the attack, but it sent me stumbling backwards in the process.

Jenny lands a quick Rock Thrower on its underbelly and draws its attention.

"HEY LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!" She rolls to the left and dodges the Deviljho's attempt of stomping her.

I sheath my weapon and I run towards the Deviljho.

"I got your back!" I grab the hilt of my weapon, however, I summon its axe form and deliver a draw attack on its wounded leg.  
The axe sinks into the muscle like nothing, I pull the trigger and it releases a charge phial inside of the Deviljho leg.

The wound open up drastically, full view of its bone and internal muscles were visible.  
Deviljho lets out a roar of pain and spins around at full speed, it hits me with the lowered tail and sends me flying a couple of feet.

The grip on my weapon loosens, causing me to drop my Charge-Blade mid-way.

"D-damn it, I should have seen that coming!" I scold myself as Deviljho glares at me with indescribable amounts of anger.  
Entering rage mode it instantly starts taking in deep breaths, I could only close my eyes and brace myself.

"I got you!" I felt Jenny tackle me to the ground and shielded me with her body.

It wasn't enough to fully protect us.

The pain we felt was terrible, fire and electricity striking you at the same time is the only way I could ever describe it.  
I could feel it burning me inside out and paralyzing my lower body, the area that was thankfully slightly protected by my leggings.

The attack soon stopped and I could hear something limping away. "It's getting a-away..." I whispered weakly.

I hear coughing next to me and I can see Jenny getting up.

Her Ukanlos armor might be bulky, but it doesn't resist Dragon-Element all that well.

"ugh, that hurt like hell…" Jenny struggles to keep herself up, while I can't do anything.

I lost my weapon and I can't feel my legs, I just need time to rest…

"Liz, drink this." Jenny was taking out a jar with green liquid, a mega potion.

"T-Thank you, I can barely feel my legs." I take the jar gingerly and start drinking the substance inside, I could feel my bruises disappearing along with some cuts.

"Hey, let's just camp for the night, we'll chase it down tomorrow." I agreed with her suggestion...

* * *

AN: Let me describe these two characters a bit, I plan on giving brief descriptions at the end of the chapter when it comes to newly introduce characters, so without further ado:

Blizzard Ishi'ryoku:  
20 years old  
Height: 5'11  
Azure colored eyes.  
White/platinum colored hair.  
Pale skin tone.

Jenny:  
18 years old.  
Height: 5'5  
Chestnut colored eyes.  
Blonde hair.  
White Peach skin tone.

(Jenny was made by a very close friend of mine, who is also writing her POV of this story, their story isn't public yet.)


	2. Chapter 2: Returning Memories

**Disclaimer: All content in this story goes to their rightful owners, in no way do I claim Monster Hunter as my own.  
**

* * *

The walk back to camp was rather painful, mostly due to the harsh conditions my legs found themselves in.

Our armor took quite the beating as well – mostly Jenny's Ukanlos armor – , my leggings were made out of ore that thankfully resisted dragon elements, but that didn't stop the pain I was experiencing with every step.

Upon our arrival at the campsite, we started focusing on a fire-pit, the sun was already setting, which in turn made the task in hand more urgent.  
It only took a couple of minutes before finally finishing and getting an ember, that grew into a successful fire.

Jenny was the first to speak after getting comfortable inside the tent."It was starting to get cold, glad we can sleep at ease tonight."

I was currently sitting at the edge of the mattress, still focus on healing my legs, I respond with a monotone voice.

"Yes, we'll rest and finish the hunt tomorrow morning."

The sound of sheets rustling gave away Jenny's sitting position.

"Don't be so serious, everything we'll be fine." The blonde was quick to reassure me.

"I know," I decided to shift the conversation into a different topic. "Can I ask you something, Jenny?"

"Ah, sure."

"Do you have any siblings?" The question was risky.

I knew nothing about her family and I ran the risk of striking something personal, but I wanted to share my past with someone else, I just needed some leverage or encouragement to do so.

The atmosphere grew tense, and Jenny went quiet for what seemed forever.

"No, I don't have any family members." The answer was sharp, quick, and had hints of aggression.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," I turn and look at Jenny, who's eyes were cast down.

"It's fine, mind telling me what brought it up?" Brown eyes met with mine, they were piercing through me and showed signs of stress.

I was practically forced to tell her now, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't. "I only have a father as a family member."

Somehow, Jenny looked even more annoyed, or rather, wanted to stop talking.

"I'll stop, sorry if I went too far-" Jenny held my hand and interrupted me.

"No, continue, I'm just fighting with bad memories."

I slowly nod in response. "My mother passed away upon giving birth to my Brother and I, which naturally left a hole in our small family."

"Wait, you have a brother?"

"Had." It was Jenny's turn to which and had an apologetic face. "He was murdered around five years ago."

Jenny took her time in picking the following words. "He died under the mark of the Hunter, right?"

"Sadly yes, an Alatreon rip him apart in front of my eyes, I had never experienced such emotional distress before."

My brother, who's name was Storm, was also my twin brother. We did almost everything together, he was there for me and I was there for him.  
I still remember his light brown eyes and black jet hair, along with his energetic smile and explosive personality, pretty much the complete opposite of me.

Jenny put her hand on my shoulder. "Now I understand why you acted that way in the past."

After the incident, I had left Loc Lac and Moga, I was just running away from my past upon arriving at Dundorma.  
At first, I was just a lone wolf. Then I slowly met people who would grow into life lasting friends, these people would later force me to join the newly built guild, under the name of Beowulf, our guild's representative.

"Sorry if my personality back then was unpleasant," I responded to Jenny's recent statement.

I had mental issues back then, issues that would only affect my social life and cause me to be a shut in, but someone made me change.

"Hehe, looks like you found yourself and reached the surface." Jenny smiled happily.

"Thanks to Raito, I was able to find comfort with myself and move on." I didn't notice the error I committed until it was too late.

"Hmm? Raito, huh?" Jenny had a huge grin on her face. "Sounds like a guy."

I let out a sigh. "Yes, a male."

"Please, do tell."

Jenny's face was now dangerously close to mine, all while having an annoying smirk.

"Want me to cut you open during your sleep?" I say nonchalantly while staring her down with my eyes.

The blonde quickly backpedaled into a corner. "N-No, ma'am! I'm just an innocent girl!"

A yawn escapes my mouth as I finished bandaging my legs. "Alright, let's get some sleep..."

We woke up the next morning at around dawn, minor preparations were made before finally heading out to hunt the weaken Deviljho.

A few hours pass without any trace of the brute wyvern, so we decided to hunt for some quarry and gather the meat in a singular pile, the aroma will attract the carnivore who's most likely starving.

Hopefully, the Deviljho doesn't catch on and avoids the trap completely, I say this due to our current rank and the quest itself.  
The rank system is rather simple to understand if a low-rank monster survives an encounter against low-rank hunters; said quest gets promoted to high rank.

That being said, a G-Rank quest usually consists of a powerful Elder Dragon, an adult Wyvern, or a survivor of previous encounters against High-Rank Hunters. All of this indicates that the Deviljho has a high chance of avoiding the trap and making us lose more time.

We decided to wait in nearby bushes, hiding in any way possible in order to not ruin any small chances of luring our target.  
Polishing our weapons was the first idea that came to our minds as we sat there in silence.

After what seemed to be an eternity, a movement was heard throughout the forest, the sudden disturbance scared off the nearby Kelbi and other small species.

' _The movement is uneven as if the source was limping.'_ My head turns to Jenny, the blonde gave me a nod and started getting up.

Peeking carefully through the bushes, we observe the creature limping slowly towards the meat.

"Time to hunt," Jenny walks into the clearing, hammer and armor glimmering under the blazing sun. "Don't fall behind, Blizzard!"

' _Youthful energy sure is a blessing... Ugh, I sound so old.'_ I shrug the thoughts away and follow behind.

The sound of armored footsteps alerted the brute of our presence, eyes lit up with rage as it recognized us.

I took out my charge blade and entered its Sword and Shield form, Jenny charged in, expectations were not meant as the Deviljho dodged towards the left instead of roaring.

"Careful, it learned!" I warn the blonde as she narrowly avoided a bite.

"Duly noted!"

' _I need to rush in and back her up._ ' Charging into the fray, I managed to position myself underneath its stomach area.

Switching into axe form, I punish the Deviljho with an upswing, the blade strikes true and cuts the soft underbelly.  
A cry of pain was heard as the brute lifted its leg high and went for a stomp; reflexes kicked in, allowing me to avoid both the tremor and the physical attack with a roll.

"You're wide open!" I hear Jenny shout while also landing an attack on Deviljho's head.

It responds by trying to bite her, the sudden movement caused the tail to almost hit me yet again, but I was expecting it this time.  
I unlock the hilt from the axe, quickly returning to my sword mode and Guard-Pointed the incoming attack, the shield let out an elemental discharge and shocked the area that came into contact with it.

At the corner of my eye, I saw Deviljho going in for a bite against me, I barely managed to sidestep out of the way and counter with a round slash; the slash went across the neck as it moved passed me.

"Give me a boost!"

I plant my right leg forward and granted Jenny the opportunity to leap off of me, as I felt her legs on my shoulders, I gave her one final boost.

' _Go!'_ I yelled mentally as I saw her closing the distance between me and the Devil.

Jenny managed to slam the Hammer down upon its head, granting her enough height to slam down once more and throw the giant wyvern off balance.

We decided to hold our ground and wait for the creature to attack us instead, seconds passed, enough time for Deviljho to regain its senses and enter Rage mode.

My body grows tense as I enter a defensive position. "Stay on alert-" I ate my words upon realizing what exactly was going on.

The brute's scales had turned into a purple hue, eyes glowing violet, and black saliva drooling out of its maw.

Jenny was the first to speak. "Damn it, a frenzied monster."

I could feel a burning sensation on my right leg, the same location where I received a scar around a year ago.

"Split up!" My command came naturally, Jenny quickly obeyed.

The now frenzied Deviljho was faster and more aggressive, – completely ignoring its limp – it came straight after me.

I shielded the lunging bite, unfortunately, some of the black drooling salivae managed to land on my armor, forcing me to roll and shake some of it off, the rest had already created holes on my silver coat.

"I got your back!" Jenny slams the brute's leg with a spin attack, it sadly didn't do much.

Deviljho retaliated by dashing forward, this, in turn, kicked Jenny out of the way.

I felt anger clouding my mind. ' _The frenzy is getting to me, I need to control it.'_

With a single dash, I closed enough distance to reach my target with a morphing draw attack.

The transition went smoothly as I went into axe mode and cut deeply into its wounded hind leg, the violent wyvern didn't respond to any hints of pain and decided to toss me aside with a tailspin.

I got up with a bit of pain, but I felt lighter. ' _I overcame the frenzy luckily.'_

With a new spring in my step, I was able to travel double the distance I usually did, even with such a heavy weapon.

' _Monsters aren't the only ones that benefit from the frenzy!'_

I spin and swing the axe over my head, landing a powerful downward slash into an upswing, the blow caused the Deviljho to feel true pain now.

"Don't forget about me!" I heard bone cracking under the pure force of Jenny's Hurricane spin.

Deviljho was thrown off guard even further.

I could tell Jenny had also powered up in time, unlike me, the increase of strength was in her arms.

"Nice job!" I continue the pressure by triggering my phial attacks, a chain of explosions closely followed behind as I slashed its gradually weakening hind legs.

' _We need to break the bones, completely immobilizing it will give us the opportunity to kill it.'_ Blood with a purple tint was starting to fall on my face as I slashed with all my might.

Before I could deliver a fatal round-slash with my axe, the brute pounced forward and almost pinned down Jenny, upon knowing it had missed; the brute turned around and started charging a breath attack.

I run forward and cover my ally. "Fall back!"

The mysterious foggy emission had hit my shield, fully charging my weapon to max.

– _Flashbacks of the creature lunging forward in previous hunts made me go for a risky maneuver. –_

I push my blade into the shield, creating friction upon morphing back into my axe mode, I could feel my hands burning as the phials entered an overheated stage.  
Deviljho started running towards me with a murderous intent evident in its eyes, I held my ground and pulled the trigger that would release all phials, an attack that would break my weapon in two in exchange for an Ultra-Attack.

Right before Deviljho could kill me in one bite, I landed the fatal blow between its eyes, the charge blade exploded inside the wound and caused shards to spread inside its skull as my weapon broke from the immense power.

' _Checkmate!'_ I grit my teeth as the force sent me flying backwards, I closed my eyes, preparing for impact against the ground.

"I gotcha!"

Upon opening my eyes, I see a blonde smiling down at me. "Thanks, Jenny."

Jenny lets me stand on my own two feet as we stare at the lifeless corpse.

"Phew, I was starting to get tired." The hammer user lets out a chuckle before heading towards her prize. "I call dibs on any gems."

I shrug with a small smile. "Whatever, I only came here to help."

On the way back to the guild, Jenny was constantly groaning.

"Ugh, my hand is killing me!" The blonde said once more as she held it in pain.

I could relate to the pain she was feeling, for my legs felt as if they were breaking every time I moved.

"Side effects from the frenzy sadly," I said weakly as I endured the pain. "I can feel it disappearing at least, but the experience is always unpleasant."

Jenny responds with a groan as she laid in the haystack.

I start to untie my armor leggings, leaving me in my black long socks, I decided to lower the one on my right leg, exposing the scar that I got when fighting my first frenzied monster.  
The scar had a purple hue as if I got a bruise, but I knew it was the shard stuck inside that was glowing. The shard absorbs the frenzy virus and grants me strength in my entire lower torso area, however, the shard could backfire if I take in too much frenzy and cause harsh side-effects.

' _The boost in power wore off after killing the Deviljho, now the side effects of cleansing my body is kicking in.'_ I wince as the pain suddenly returns for a few seconds.

As the pain disappears, I let out a sigh and decide to ask Jenny a question.

"Did the doctors tell you they can't remove these shards?" I only knew Jenny and Lucas that had these frenzy crystals stuck in their bodies, so I was curious if they were told the same thing.

Jenny sat up with more coloration to her face, most likely due to feeling better. "Yea said that the darn thing got stuck in my nerves, removing it would cause arm issues and leaving it be would allow me to have a normal life."

 _'They said the same thing about my leg, except they also said that the shard had stuck itself on purpose in order to remain inside its host.'_

Looking back at my scar, I kept the conversation going. "At least it gives us an edge against the frenzy, the positive effects it gives are rather helpful."

"I just hate the pain that comes after using them, but at least it's disappearing." Jenny was rubbing the palm on her right hand, the area where her scar was.

"Yea," I look out of the cart and saw the approaching city of Dundorma in the distance. "I'm going to take a quick nap."

"Ah, one thing before you do," Jenny spoke before I laid down. "I wanted to say thank you, it means a lot to me that you join my quest; I'm also really happy that you decided to come back to the guild."

I smile softly at the young lady. "It was time to return anyways," I lean my head back and stare at the cloudy sky. "how can I abandon my family?"

Jenny didn't respond but had a genuine smile on her face, it was the last thing I saw before closing my eyes and resting for the remainder of the ride back home.

 _'Home, right... The guild is my home, ever since the day they practically forced me to join, it was always there with open arms.'_

* * *

"Rise and shine, Liz!" I felt someone shaking me lightly, causing my eyes to flutter open and meet face to face with a smiling Jenny.

"Hi, there! We're finally here, welcome back, Blizzard."

I start standing up slowly and peaked out the cart.

A large building of four floors stood in front of us, I could see the courtyard on the left side with a medical center, the old and gigantic oak tree on the right side was also visibly; the oak tree was giving much-needed shade over the training grounds where hunters train day and night.  
The pathway towards the entrance of the guild was made out of gravel, hedges and flowers decorated the sides of the path.

"It sure went under heavy improvements," I muttered as I stare in awe.

I hear Jenny chuckle as she hops out of the wooden cart. "It sure did, now hurry up, can't wait to show everyone you're here."

"Give me one a minute." I start equipping my leggings and made sure my side bag was with me.

"Sorry about that," I leap off the edge of the cart and stand next to Jenny. "Lead the way."

Last time I was here, the new founded medical center was the female's dorm and I assume the male's dorm was also changed, said dorm was next to the ancient oak tree.

"Hey, stop getting distracted," Jenny grabs my hand and starts leading me towards the main building at the center. "I'm sure you're starving, let us get a meal together."

She wasn't wrong, I had a lingering feeling of hunger for the entire trip.

While walking, my eyes caught a glimpse of fellow guild members reading books under the shade of trees on the courtyard, which also had a nice fountain with a statue of a maiden holding a jar.

' _No wonder it got improved, I can already see new faces everywhere.'_

A sudden shadow looms over me, causing my head to face forward and stare at the large building in front of me.

"There's no turning back now," Jenny said with a grin as she practically pulled me inside.

The inside of the building was even bigger than I expected, the first floor held a crazy amount of tables where countless Hunters ate and drank, my ears naturally blocked off the dozens of conversations going on at once as my eyes kept absorbing the view.

"There the new quest counter, along with a shop and kitchen, this floor is practically the headquarters of the guild," Jenny explained swiftly as she stood next to me.

"It's quite busy." I raise my voice above the crowd.

Jenny just chuckles. "It's always this way, both day and night."

I just nod as I start looking for a specific person.

 _'Can't seem to see Beowulf, maybe he's currently out of the guild.'_

"Everyone! Guess who's back!" I flinch upon hearing Jenny yell at the top of her lungs.

The majority of the crowd went silent and stared at us both.

"J-Jenny, you know very well I hate being the center of attention," I whisper to the crazy blonde next to me.

I could already hear some Hunters whispering and a few returning to their conversations.

' _Good, they don't seem to remember me.'_ I let out a sigh.

"The commander is back!" A voice among the mass shouted and it leads to a huge portion of the guild cheering and clapping.

Jenny gave me a push forward, causing me to stumble. "G-Greetings everyone," I said with a nervous smile as many of them kept welcoming and greeting me.

"Hey! Give your second in command some space!" A male voice cut through the crowd with ease, a voice I knew too well.

A brunette wearing simple clothing and a hoodie made out of Kushala scales made way through the crowd with a commanding aura, the man had sea green eyes and was around my height.

"Aegis..." I say my best friend's – and also Third in Command – name as he approached me.

The 19-year-old was now eyeing me with judging eyes.

I stood in silence, as I waited patiently for him to talk, it took him a few seconds before speaking.

"Look at you, it seems you got beat up by a Deviljho." Aegis smiled and extended his hand.

I accept the handshake. "I was helping Jenny hunt one, it was a success."

"Congratulations and welcome back, I can speak for everyone when I say we missed you."

Jenny steps in and gives us both a one arm hug. "How about we go get a table and spend some quality time together!"

"Wait, don't forget about me!"

Our attention was stolen by a red-haired Hunter, a person we knew and loved, who went under the name of Lucas.  
The lad was the same age as Aegis but stood at a height of six feet and four inches.

"Lucas!" We said in unison as he greeted with a wave.

"The whole gang is here for the party, let's go eat already!" Jenny said happily as we started walking to a nearby table.

Lucas sits next to me. "I'm glad you're back, we should seriously hang out together and catch up, or maybe read a book at the courtyard!"

Lucas was a very nice guy, I met him on a hunt against a Shagaru Magala and soon enough he had joined our small guild.  
However, Lucas tends to express himself in ways that others may misunderstand, specifically Jenny.

"Oh come on man, we just got here and you're already flirting with Blizzy." Jenny teased Lucas.

Lucas gave her a death glare as his face got a bit red. "I'm not doing such things, I just want to spend time with my friend."

"Sure, I believe you, 'Luka'."

"Can you please stop calling me that, you filthy 'Deviljho'."

' _Of course, they start fighting, no matter how much this guild got modified, there are things that never change.'_ I ignore the pair and start conversing with Aegis.

"Have you seen our Guild-Master?" I ask the brunette.

Aegis shrugs at my question. "I have honestly not seen him today." He turns and catches the attention of a waiter, then proceeded to order today's meal for everyone.

"Now it is my turn to ask a question," His eyes signal me for permission, which I grant with a nod. "What made you come back?"

"After having some time alone to recollect my sanity, I realized how much I missed the only family I had," I responded without hesitation.

Aegis had a smile on his face upon hearing my words, I also notice that Jenny and Lucas had stop fighting, even though Jenny currently had the red hair in a headlock.

"And we missed our big sister." Aegis voiced out everyone's thought.

' _Sister, huh.'_ The title was given to me after earning my status of second in command.

Everyone apparently thought I was protective during hunts, had great leadership, and talked with wisdom; this all lead up to being called the big sister or mother figure of the guild.

"Yea, now you're stuck with us forever!" Jenny said happily which caused everyone to laugh.

' _I'm glad to be back, I was wrong when I choose to leave, but now I have grown stronger and I'm ready to protect everyone dear to me until my dying breath.'_

* * *

 **AN: I forgot to mention last time that Blizzard's armor is a custom design, if you wish to see her physical appearance, just look at this stories cover. That same image represents what she's wearing and how she looks like! (And yes, I drew it.)**

As always, I'll describe the two new members revealed in this chapter:

Aegis:  
Age: 19.  
Height: 5'10.  
Eye color: Sea green.  
Hair color: Brown.  
Skin tone: Light.

Lucas:  
Age: 19.  
Height: 6'4.  
Eye color: Grey.  
Hair color: Red hair.  
Skin tone: Rosy-pale.


	3. Chapter 3: A Busy Day Distracts The Mind

**_Disclaimer: In no way do I own the Monster Hunter series, all content goes to their rightful owners._**

* * *

 _ **Blizzard's POV**_

After our meal with the guys, Jenny and I decided to head to our rooms.

My bedroom was across of Jenny's on the third floor, which consisted of fifty rooms for all female hunters. The second floor was used for males and forth floor for married couples, or siblings that wished to share.

Upon reaching my dorm, I open it with the new key I received downstairs and invite the hyperactive blonde inside.

The room was simple, it had a hallway, closet, bedroom, and a bathroom; I could already spot some personal belongings such as two wooden chests which most likely had my equipment.

"It's comfortable," I comment as I enter the room and search through my stuff. "some of my weapons are missing, though."

"Oh the Guild's weapon bank has it, you can access it at the blacksmith floor which is underneath the first floor."

' _Didn't know we had a bottom floor, I'll go there tomorrow then and retrieve my customized Longsword."_ I show my gratitude with a nod and proceed to sit on my bed.

Jenny let out a loud yawn, drowsiness was evident in her eyes.

"Well, going to head to my bedroom," She gives me a quick hug before heading out. "If you need me, just knock at my door."

"Good night, Jenny." I escorted her to the door and closed it once she had exited the room.

I decided to enter the bathroom and started preparing a shower.  
The lavatory was small, but it had all the essential needs; my eyes caught a glimpse of a mirror which drew my attention while I was undressing.

' _I look rather pale today,'_ Getting sick was common for me, however, I didn't enjoy being ill at all.

"I should visit the medical center tomorrow..." I mutter softly as I started to worry about my health.

Shaking the thought away, my fingers start tracing a few scars located around my body, scars that told different stories and countless hardships. ' _At least they're rather small and easy to hide.'_

Our species is divided into two different categories, Full-bloods, and half-bloods. The difference between the two was small but large enough to affect rankings and rules when it came to being a Hunter.

One special trait that Full-bloods have is rapid regeneration, our injuries heal quickly over time with the usage of our body's water supply.

' _With the exception of one thing...'_ My eyes stare blankly at the scar on my knee, said scar will not heal no matter how much time passes due to the frenzy shard.

The frenzy is able to manipulate its host, and in the process, doing some horrifying things.

Luckily for us humans, we're able to resist the majority of its effects and only get minor backlash, for example; any wounds created by the frenzy will take a larger lapse of time to heal. A normal injury on a Full-blood would only take two days at most to fully disappear, sadly with the frenzy, it takes almost a week with intense medical care to close the wound.

Half-bloods – Who lack such rapid healing – suffer a bit more, but with the help of nulberry remedies they're able to match our healing when it comes to frenzy wounds.

A sudden chill goes up my spine as I remember why I was in the bathroom in the first place, which in turn made me return back to reality and resume my business.

After getting out and putting some comfortable sleepwear, I decided to take out a piece of paper and a pen out of my room's drawer with the full intent of writing a letter.

The mail was directed towards Raito, who was out on an errand at the time I left to help Jenny. I was letting him know where I was, inviting him to come to the guild, and mentioning that I was fine.

Upon finishing, I let out a yawn as the lack of energy was finally getting to me. The bed next to me was giving off a radiant aura, fully welcoming me to lay on it and fall into a deep slumber, which I happily obliged.  
As I laid on my side and stared out the window, my mind was still cluttered with different emotions, scenarios, and unpleasant memories. The feeling wasn't new, I've adapted to fighting my own thoughts during these quiet nights, and tonight was no different; except that today I was tired enough to ignore them completely.

It wasn't long till I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up soon after dawn, sunlight hitting my eyes was enough to make me stir and slowly made me wake up.

I rub my eyes and did a few stretches before getting out of bed, I had a few things to do today and decided to make a list.

It consisted of eating, sending the letter to Raito, Blacksmith, and medical center.

After getting ready and equipping some casual clothing with a hairband to keep my messy hair in place; I head out of the room and towards the staircase.

Heading downstairs and into the mess hall, I quickly notice that the place was rather lonely, only a few hunters were up and running with the usual maids and mess hall tenders.

Now that I knew the bottom floor existed, it was rather easy to spot; as a large sign pointed to the correct staircase leading to the blacksmith floor.

It took me awhile to reach the bottom floor, it was also extremely hot down there; I had a new found respect for the Wyverians who work tirelessly as our blacksmiths almost all day.

This room was much larger than the first floor, countless minecarts kept moving around the walls, carrying materials and finished weapons or armors alike; behind the counter, I could clearly see a large gear that would shift melted ores onto the tables of workers.  
As I walk towards the counter, I feel the heat hit me at full blast, while the sound of hammers hitting metal deafening my ears.

A young Wyverian quickly attended me, – or at least he looked young – luckily the man shouted so I could hear him properly.

"What can I do for you, Hunter!"

I grab my carving knife and hand it over, the knife had my name engraved on it since it's our form of proving our Hunter license.

"I would like my customized Heaven's Thunder, under the name of Blizzard Ishi'Ryoku," I instruct as he inspects the knife for legitimacy.

"Alright! Give me one minute, ma'am!" After returning my knife, the Wyverian walks around a corner and disappears from view completely.

I take the time to view the weapons on display, they all looked pretty nice and well made.

Sadly I spot something I was uncomfortable with. ' _Of course, they have that weapon on display.'_

I could see some bows of different shapes and sizes, either way, it reminded me of the day I failed my brother for the last time. ' _I should get back to using it, can't let my past limit my weaponry.'_

The blacksmith returns with my weapon and a ticket, which he hands both over to me.

The ticket had the name of the person who retrieved my weapon. "Thank you, Elwind," I said politely to the Wyverian.

"It was an honor, Lady Blizzard."

"Please, no need to address me in such ways." The guild knew my status very well, so I wasn't surprised.

"Ah, pardon then, Blizzard."

I excuse myself with a gentle smile and made way towards the staircase, once I reached the main floor, I delivered the letter to our local mail service.

I sat down at one of the tables near a window, waiting patiently for the waiter to attend me.

The window has a nice view of the training grounds, which allowed me to spectate ongoing sparring matches between various Hunters. My eyebrows rise a bit as I spot Aegis and Lucas outside, they were fighting each other and seemed to be doing so at full force; few spectators were gathered around the sparring match.

The match ended with Aegis landing a beautiful blow on Lucas' chest region, knocking the latter down on his butt.  
I could hear the crowd cheering as I adverted my eyes in time to respond to the waiter.

"What can I get you, ma'am?"

"The daily meal is fine," I responded.

The waiter gave a small bow before leaving.

"Morning, Blizzy!" Jenny enters my view of vision and greets me happily.

"Greetings, Jenny."

"I forgot to give you this yesterday," Jenny takes out a small bag out of her pocket. "This is the reward money for hunting the Deviljho."

Accepting the bag with gratitude, I change the topic. "Did you already order food?"

"Yup! The first thing I ever do when entering this mess hall is ordering my free meals of the day!" The blonde said rather too excitable.

"Free?" I was confused since we pay for our food no matter what.

Jenny flinches a bit as if she said something forbidden. "W-well, you see..."

I stare at her with no emotion present on my face. "What did you do." It was an order, not a question.

Jenny let out a sigh before responding. "I won a bet,"

"What type of bet."

"A bet where if I got you back to the guild, Aegis, had to pay for every meal I have for a month," Jenny said while avoiding eye contact with me.

"..." I didn't feel like commenting on the matter, those two can solve the matter by themselves.

"Anyways," Jenny sits down across me and tries to change the subject. "Any plans for today?"

"I'm heading to the medical center after breakfast, I feel like I'm going to get sick, so I might as well check with a doctor."

"Ah, I see." Jenny cut the conversation short as a Waitress delivered our food.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Jenny picks up on where we left off. "Well, while you're away, I'll go find the boys and spar with them."

"I saw them at the training grounds," I responded while pointing towards the window. "I assume the duo are currently taking a lunch break over there."

Jenny had finished her meal and got up from the table. "Alright, thanks for letting me know!" She then left through the backdoor that would lead to the oak tree.

' _Full of energy as always, however, she always hides her true emotions with a smile.'_

It didn't take long for me to notice her strange behavior, mostly because I'm very familiar with it.

I step out and head over to the medical center where I would check if I had any strange side effects, the dragon ailment was rather weird and hard to cure.

The two floored building was small compared to the main one, it used to be the female's dorms.

' _It's amazing how much things change when you're not around them, but memories of this place still lingers forever.'_ As I enter the building, I feel a bit nostalgic.

"Welcome!" I heard a cheery voice from the counter. "What can I do for you?"

A young nurse was inviting me with a smile.

"I just need a normal check up against elemental side effects," I responded to her.

"Of course! Just head into the nearest door on the left, a Doctor will soon join you."

I nod and head over to the room that was indicated to me.

I close the door behind me as I enter the room, I decided to sit on the bed and wait patiently.

It didn't take long for the door knob to wobble before opening and revealing a female Wyverian in a white coat.

"Blizzard Ishi'Ryoku?" The Doctor said.

"Yes, that's me."

"Good, it says you're here for an ailment check up," The Doctor looks up from her clipboard and looks at me. "May you tell me what kind of element?"

"Dragon element, Doctor..?" I indicated with my face that I wanted to know her name.

"Doctor Flora, it's nice to meet you, Blizzard." Flora walks over to a desk and starts taking out some tools.

' _She must be having a busy day, I can already tell Flora was in a rush.'_ I let myself smile a bit.

"Blizzard, are you a Full-Blood or a Half-Blood?" The question brought me back to reality.

"Full-Blood," I said with no hesitation.

Flora takes out a dagger out of the drawer and walks over to me. "This dagger has a Rathalos Ruby, I would like you to summon its fire element."

"Uh, that can be rather dangerous," I said nervously as she handed me the weapon.

"Don't worry, the room is fire proof." Flora steps a few feet away from me.

' _I hate summoning elements, but if I need to do it...'_ I grip the hilt with both my hands and focus intently on the emotion of fear, blood, passion, and power.

Soon enough, the dagger is engulfed by a power flame, the element around the small weapon was completely harmless to me.

"Incredible! I haven't seen such power when it came to controlling elements." Flora claps her hands once in excitement.

Letting my emotions go back to normal, the flame instantly dies out. "Is everything okay with me?"

"I see no problem with your current health! If anything, you're rather healthy and could keep hunting for around five more years."

"I see..." I stand up and prepare myself to leave. "Thank you, Doctor Flora."

"Come back anytime!"

* * *

As I exit the medical center, I could hear the nurse at the counter yell.

"Glad you're healthy! Hope to never see you here again!"

I smile at the sentence as the door closes shut behind me, the sun indicated that it was currently the afternoon.

I walk to the courtyard and thought of what to do since I had around five hours of sunlight left.

' _Maybe I should go downtown into Dundorma's district, the place is rather busy and I could purchase new materials.'_

"LIZ!

YOU GOT TO HELP ME!" The voice came from Lucas, who seemed to be in a panic.

"Whats wrong, Lucas?" He grabs both my forearms with his hands and starts shaking me.

"Jenny beat the crap out of Aegis and now she is looking for a new partner and that means me!" The teen was talking so fast I could barely understand a word.

"C-Calm down and stop shaking me!"

"O-oh, sorry!" The man lets go of me but was still pleading for help with his eyes.

I let out a sigh as I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I'm heading down to Dundorma, you're welcomed to join me."

"Gosh, you're the best! It's a date then,"

I stop him before he could say another word. "Go shower first, I'll be waiting in the courtyard."

"R-right." Lucas runs into the guild at lightning speed, most likely to avoid being caught by the 'Deviljho'.

I find a pleasant seat on a lonely bench under the shade of a tree, as I sat down and stared at the fountain, – listening to its gentle tune of the water splashing around – I couldn't help but let my mind wonder.

I lost track of time after daydreaming for awhile, so I decided to get up and walk around the fountain.  
The current season was about to end, and fall was soon to come and take its place. Evidence of the season changing was the leaves floating in the fountain's water.

The courtyard was indeed peaceful, perfect for reading a book or relaxing with a friend.

' _Speaking of friends. Lucas, it's rather rude to keep a lady waiting for so long.'_ I sigh as I search for any signs of him, sadly, I failed to find any.

As I turned to walk out of the guild's territory and wait for him outside, I heard someone call out my name.

"Blizzard!" Lucas shouted as he closed the distance between us. "Sorry, I kept ya waiting."

Lucas was wearing a clothing mark known as Uniqlo – except for the cap – the clothing was only really sold in the capital cities, places where Hunters never have the chance to experience.

"Someone looks fancy." I joke.

Lucas humors me by spinning once. "These old clothes were a gift from my parents."

"Really?" I didn't know his family lived so far away. "I'm guessing they live at one of the capital cities."

Lucas' eyes shined with pride. "They sure do! My Father is a weapon inventor, while my Mother is a top class Doctor."

We start walking out of the guild's territory and onto the street's sidewalk.

"I didn't know you're from such a place, I'm curious to know what made you become a Hunter instead of living at one of the safest places in the world."

"Man, I could probably make an entire book out of my reasons." Lucas chuckled before continuing. "But it was mostly because I looked up to Hunters, I always wanted to be a hero and defend those who cannot fight for themselves."

"Seems like some fantasy," I told him.

"Yea, I realize now, all the hardships Hunters go through," Lucas responded with a saddened tone.

I decided to cheer him up. "I see why you're still a Rookie, but you're definitely talented."

Lucas smiled in gratitude. "Ha, thanks, however, I have much to learn still."

The conversation soon died down, at the very least, the atmosphere around us wasn't awkward.

Out of the blue, Lucas decided to ask me a small question. "Your obviously nowhere near being a Rookie, so I was wondering how many places you've seen."

I didn't like talking about my past, but the question was harmless.

"I was born in Pokke, so I naturally trained there at first; after a few years into my career as a trainee, I was sent to Moga Village in order to start my job as a Huntress." At the corner of my eye, I could see Lucas' face of interest. "I then went on to help Loc Lac city and Port Tanzia, and last but not least, here."

"Man, that's amazing, you have so many experiences under your belt." Lucas mutter to himself. "I heard that Port Tanzia has a guild that shows Hunters the art of underwater combat."

"You are indeed correct, swimming is part of their training program," I remember something important after saying that to him. "Aegis is an expert when it comes to underwater combat actually."

"Huh, didn't know that." Lucas looked up ahead. "By the way, where are we going?"

"I need to buy some materials, and maybe get a new Charge Blade," I said casually.

Lucas got my attention."I can show you a cool blacksmith shop, trust me, the man is a complete legend!"

"That would be nice of you,"

Lucas had a new spring in his step."I'll lead the way once we reach Dundorma's shopping district."

"By the way, Lucas, how did the guild get so much money that it got improved immensely." The question was bugging me ever since I returned.

"Uh, I thought you sent the payment."

"Pardon? I never sent any zenny to the guild." I tilt my head slightly in confusion.

"Well, after you left, we started getting zenny under your name, but it was only a small amount every time; as if the cash was a small portion of a quest reward," Lucas explained.

' _Ah, since I was still part of the guild, it kept receiving money off of me.'_ I concluded.

Lucas stops walking, which in turn, made me stop as well. "Wait, doesn't that mean you did a crapload of quests?"

I let out a sigh and shrug, deciding not to respond to the young man. "It still doesn't add up, it's impossible for me to get such money alone."

"That's true," Lucas ponders for a bit. "Well, we also got a lot of attention after successfully completing many job requests; Dundorma soon realized this and lend us some money for remodeling purposes, in order to accommodate the newcomers we kept receiving."

"Thank you, Lucas," I said with a sincerer tone.

Lucas responded with a thumbs up before continuing to walk once more towards our destination.

I follow behind, but something catches my attention and causes me to stop once more.

Lucas notices the lack of footsteps following him. "Is something wrong?"

"No, just watching the little children, they just seem so innocent and alive," I said as I stared at the group of youngsters play in the local park. "I wish I had such the opportunity."

I allow myself to smile before resuming to walk, Lucas followed behind after having a confused look on his face for a bit.

I felt my friend's eyes staring at the back of my neck, so I stop and turn around to address the matter.

"I feel like you have something to say."

Lucas panics for a second before adverting his eyes. "Well, I was just wondering what you meant by what you said just a second ago."

' _Second ago..?'_ It took me some time before realizing what he meant.

"When I was a child, my Brother and I, never had permission to play with the other kids," I gesture him to walk while I spoke, so we wouldn't waste more time. "We never left the house outside of training activities, so we would work all day until we could no longer stand at around night time."

"That sounds really unfair, what a bad father," Lucas responded with a low tone, it was almost a whisper.

"Don't worry, it was a long time ago, sure it wasn't fair and I deserved a better childhood, however, it built me to who I am today," I reassured Lucas that everything was fine. "If I wasn't trained to be a warrior, maybe I would had just been a normal maiden that would get married to a man I probably would've never loved."

Lucas thinks it over for a bit, but soon his frown turns into a smile. "That's a great way to put it, no wonder everyone looks up to you, Aegis and Beowulf."

"I'm just a normal Huntress, nothing special about me." I giggle lightly.

"Huh, that laugh was rather adorable, I never heard you giggle before." Lucas once more, messed up his wording.

' _You never change, Lucas.'_ I gave the guy a break by ignoring the comment, Jenny makes fun of him enough as it is.

We walk in silence for the rest of the trip.

* * *

We stood in front of a medium size building, the shop was located in a shady area in between a maze of alleys.

"Ladies go first." Lucas opens the door for me, so I step inside.

The interior completely belied its exterior origins, the place resembled that of a professional blacksmith store that only top ranking guilds have access to.  
Countless weapons were hanged on the wall, or placed inside display cases when it came to expensive weaponry; while armor pieces were placed neatly in boxes on shelves that gave any customer easy access to try them on.

As we approach the counter, we could hear the familiar sound of a hammer hitting metal.

"Heh, guess the old man is busy with an order." Lucas hops over the counter, which surprised me. "I'll get his attention, go ahead and look around in the meantime."

"Well, alright then," I said with a worried look, but I guess Lucas knows this blacksmith very well.

I look around the store until I finally spot some Charge-Blades, I could see many different parts that were essential in customizing a weapon. Very few people were able to make their own weapon from scratch and use it in battle with great success.

"Commander, come to the main counter!"

Heading over, I could see Lucas standing next to a tall and bulky guy, the blacksmith's skin tone was tan and his hair was jet-black with a mixture of white – demonstrating how old he is – .

"There you are, Wayland is right here." He indicates to the large man who clearly wasn't a Wyverian.

"Nice to meet ya, ma'am! What can I do for ya?" His voice is rather booming, that's for sure. Reminds me of a General of the Palace Knights.

"Nice to meet you as well, Wayland. My name is,Blizzard Ishi-Ryoku, however, you may call me Blizzy." I extend my hand towards the large man, which Wayland takes and shakes it surprisingly carefully.

"Please, the honor is mine." Wayland lets go and went straight down to business. "I heard from young Lucas that you're in need of a new weapon."

I start explaining my current situation, Lucas didn't mind hearing it since I didn't tell anyone how my Charge-Blade broke.

"That's quite the story! So what kind of element or ailment are you looking for?" Wayland's voice was loud, about twice as loud as Jenny's, except his was deep and similar to that of a military general.

"Dragon element, please."

Wayland thinks for a bit before responding to my demand. "Alright, however, do you have the materials? I'm rather low on dragon essences."

I nod and ask for a piece of paper and pen.

"Oh, you're going to write the bank account of your monster materials, Blizzy?" Lucas asked me.

"Might as well, I feel like I'll be coming back to this armory," I muttered as I wrote on the paper.

Wayland laughs upon hearing me. "Any Hunter is welcome in my store!"

"I've plenty of Deviljho and Shagaru materials, you can use those for the Charge-Blade."

"I'll make sure to pick up the materials for the weapon then." The large man said with a smile. "It'll be ready in a week! I just need some advance payment."

I grab my bag of zenny – the same one Jenny gave me – and handed it over to Wayland.

"I'll pay in full right now."

"That works just fine! Now, I'll be off to my work, thank you for your purchase!" The large Blacksmith then starts walking towards the wooden door, but before he enters his workshop, he looks back at Lucas.

"By the way, Lucas, take good care of her!" He then slams the wooden door behind him, I could still hear his laughter coming from behind the wooden frame.

"It's not like that old man, Blizzard is just my friend!" Lucas yelled in vain as Wayland could be heard laughing even louder.

I just start walking back to the exit, I don't mind such comments, however...

"Alright, sweetie, no need to get flustered over something like that." Lucas' eyes widen in shock and the poor creature face turns the same shade of his hair.

"N-No! You're one year older than me anyways!"

I laugh and explain I was only joking. ' _I only tease him every new moon or so, I was right when I said Lucas gets fun of, enough by others.'_

We step outside and head back the guild before the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

* * *

We reach the guild after sunset.

"Phew, what a day, huh?" Lucas did a small attempt at small talk

"Yea, let's go eat dinner, I'm sure Aegis and Jenny are waiting for us."

"Sure, maybe Jenny didn't eat the entire pot of soup yet." Lucas joked.

I just roll my eyes slightly as Lucas was already trying to pick a fight with our energetic blonde.

It didn't take long to spot Jenny and Aegis at the usual table, upon entering the mess hall.

We head off to join our friends, and so the night was quickly filled with countless topics and laughter. Jenny would also hit Lucas a few times with her spoon for calling her fat and avoiding her all day.

The usual crazy stuff I have grown to love over the years was definitely present that night.

* * *

 **AN:** Hope everything is going well so far! Anyways, here a quick introduction for Wayland and Flora!

Wayland:  
Height: 6'8  
Eye color: Brown  
Hair color: Jet Black with signs of aging (strays of gray hair.)  
Skin color: Tan  
Age: 49

Flora:  
Height: 6'0  
Eye color: Emerald  
Hair color: Brown  
Skin color: Pale  
Age: Unknown.


	4. Chapter 4: Overcoming Obstacles

**Disclaimer: _In no way do I own the Monster Hunter series, all content goes to their rightful owner._**

* * *

Upon waking up, I felt a weird sensation down at my legs, which caused me to sit up and start massaging them.  
They were a bit swollen for some reason as if something had stung me during the night.

' _I should clean them just in case...'_ I got up slowly from the bed and prepared to stand up.

"Ah!" I yelp as I felt a sharp pain course through my entire body upon standing.

I latch myself onto a nearby chair so I wouldn't fall, the pain was unbearable and made me want to scream in agony; on top of that, I felt nauseous.

' _I'm going to need help.'_ My first instinct was to head over to Jenny's room – heading to the door wasn't easy as every step felt like walking on broken glass barefooted.

I grab the door knob and managed to open it easily – it seemed like my arms were still normal.

I scramble towards Jenny's door and started knocking desperately.

"Hold on!" I heard her voice.

I kept knocking. "H-help." I managed to mutter out while barely ignoring the pain.

This seemed to reach Jenny's ears, as I heard fast movement and soon the door opened up – revealing a worried friend.

"Blizzard!?" Jenny was quick to get a hold of me. "What's wrong, tell me!"

I point at my legs as I shift my weight onto her. "My legs are killing me,"

"Here," Jenny practically had to drag me into her room and lay me on the bed. "Stay here, I'll get some help."

She dashed out of the room and left me alone, the pain subsided upon taking my weight off of my own two feet.

It was now obvious that the problem was coming from my legs.

"Blizzy!" I hear a male voice followed by heavy footsteps – the equivalent to running.

The door opens forcefully, revealing a shirtless Aegis who looked like he was being chased down by an Elder Dragon.

"Put something on for goodness sake," I tell Aegis as he positions himself next to the bed.

The man gave me a smile, but his eyes showed concern for my health. "Glad you're still alive then."

"Did Jenny call you?"

"Aye, she kicked down my door – literally, mind you – and started yelling about what was happening," Aegis explained with a small chuckle.

"Sorry, I didn't think she would-" Aegis quickly shushed me.

"Just rest, you look pale and it was obvious at first glance how ill you're." Aegis got up and went into the bathroom, I could hear water running from the sink.

When he gets back with a wet towel, I decided to speak up. "It's not a fever, my entire upper body is normal, the pain is coming from my legs."

Aegis nods in understanding and starts observing them. "They look swollen," I let out a yelp as he touched my left leg. "S-sorry!"

"Just wait for the Doctor, please." I close my eyes for what I thought was for a few seconds.

* * *

I suddenly feel someone shaking me. "Liz, wake up."

My eyes flutter open, my vision was still blurry but I could make out the silhouette of four people.

"She's coming to." I hear a familiar voice, one that I heard at the medical center.

"What happened?" I say weakly as my vision finally focus enough to make out their faces.

Lucas was now there, along with Jenny and Doctor Flora.

"You passed out for a couple of minutes." Aegis was still nearest to me, sitting on a chair next to the bed.

"I injected a vaccine for your frenzy crystal, apparently the dragon ailment got stuck in it due to the frenzy virus, and only just now did it release itself." Flora quickly explained the situation as she started packing up her tools.

"Ah, I see..." I was thankful that the suffering was over, but I still felt rather tired.

"I recommend letting her rest for two days or so, keeping her under intense care is also ideal." Flora bowed slightly before leaving.

The room went silent, but everyone's eyes were staring into mine.

"Sorry for making everyone so worried." Guilt was something I was familiar with, but also distasted it.

Aegis let out a long sigh, most likely due to holding his breath every time Flora spoke. "Alright, I'll carry Blizzard to her room and keep watch," Aegis picked me up in bridal style with ease. "Any objections?"

"Yes, you could put me down and let me walk," I said to him.

Aegis looks at me with a blank stare. "You're in no position to complain."

"I'll get you both some breakfast," Lucas chuckled and got up, leaving the room swiftly.

"I'll watch over her at night." Jenny offered.

' _Don't I get a say in this?'_ That's what I would have said, but I already knew it was futile at this point.

Aegis started walking with me in his arms. "Good, just open the door for us, Jenny."

"Aye, Captain!"

Luckily no one was in the hallway – It was rather embarrassing to be carried this way – we covered the short distance between both rooms, in just mere seconds, and I was then laid down carefully onto my bed.

"Alright, I'm going to head out and help Lucas bring the food up here," Jenny said as she left the room.

The room went silent after the third party member left, the environment was awkward and tense, which reminded me of a conflict that I forgot to resolve upon returning.  
I left the guild on a very bad note when it came to certain people, Aegis was one of them.

 _'I should clear things up with him now that I have the chance.'_ I gather up the courage as I turn to look at Aegis straight in the eyes.

"Aegis, I want to apologize to you." My voice got his attention almost immediately.

It took a few seconds for him to process what I had said. "Uh, for what?"

"For the promise, I broke upon leaving the guild."

Aegis' confused face turn into one of frustration. "Ah, yes, how could I forget."

I decided to remain quiet, for I know he has much to say.

"It was stupid of you to leave in the first place, and honestly, I'm still annoyed about said promise being broken." Aegis' voice was rising slightly with each word, but it never reached the tone of a shout.

"We clearly said that if one of us left, the other one would also leave along WITH them!" Aegis was practically holding back his anger at this point.

"I had my reasons," I try to defend myself, but I only fed more wood to the fire.

"Then what were they?!" the brunette shouted as he stood up.

I remained calm in order to keep things under control. "I didn't want to take away the family you gained upon joining this place, I saw how happy you were, I wasn't going to let my depression rob it from you."

"Oh cut the crap already," Aegis sits down and lets out a tired sigh. "Don't you see how important you're? Every single one of us has an important role that can never be replaced if one of us disappears – the hole they leave behind could never be patched up."

I let him cool down for a bit before I continued the conversation. "Yes, and I see that now."

"Good, you had me worried sick for goodness sake, you're basically the only person I can call a sister; I'm just so sick of losing people, and I frankly don't feel like losing someone close to me."

I let out a small laugh. "Again, I'm deeply sorry, believe me when I say that I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else."

"I know, I know... I just had all those emotions bottled up inside," Aegis said with a downward glance.

"Well, they do say I'm a great listener." I joke slightly.

"Yea, you're – Although, I feel bad for yelling at you, especially since you aren't feeling well," Aegis said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad we solved this issue, I'm truly am sorry."

Aegis smiles and showed no signs of stress for once. "For what it's worth, I accept your apology, friend."

"It is worth a great deal," I glance at his torso and notice he was still without a shirt. "But please, get a shirt before the others get here."

Aegis looks down and chuckles. "Right, I'll be right back then; I'll even bring some books for some entertainment."

A yawn escapes my mouth before I could respond.

"Ah, you should get some sleep after eating breakfast," Aegis ordered with a grin before turning around.

In that moment, I notice an enormous scar on Aegis' lower back as he left the room, but I decided to not bring it up anytime soon.

' _I just need to focus on staying awake for now.'_

As I finally have some peace and quiet, I take the opportunity to look out the window.

"Two days, huh..?" I let out a sigh as I realize how boring the next two days were going to be – or so I thought it was going to be that way.

* * *

"Lucas! Give me your extra piece of bread!" Jenny cried.

"What? No, this bread is for Blizzy – Hey! Give it back, Jenny!" Lucas got up and chased Jenny out of the room.

Aegis was grumbling in annoyance. "I swear those two are going to make me pop a nerve."

I couldn't help but giggle as I finish eating my meal that my friends kindly brought to my room. "Just let them be,"

"Man, I have no clue how you have so much tolerance." Aegis offered to retire my plate as he made way to clean the room.

I gave him my thanks with a nod as I handed it over. "Let's just say I know someone who pulls my strings all day."

Aegis ponders for a bit. "Huh, a new friend I assume."

"Correct, hopefully, he comes over here soon, I sent him a letter yesterday."

I watch Aegis stack everyone's food trays, and then proceeds to head out of the room in order to place it out in the hallway's waste receptacle.

At least, that's what would have happened, if we weren't inside the guild.

"Make way!" I hear a feminine voice, along with a thud and plates shattering.

My eyes widen as I registered what had happened, Jenny crashed into Aegis who then proceeded to drop everything.

"For the love of Fatalis! Jenny what the hell!" Aegis finally lost his temper.

' _Things just never change do they...'_ My ears try their best to block out the laughter coming from Lucas, a yelling Aegis, and a Jenny who was close to tears.

' _Then again, I prefer things to be this way; even if I experience crazy events like these every day, they make me grateful for what I have and for the past that leads up to this day.'_

I lay on my side, facing away from the chaos – letting myself fall into a much-needed slumber.

* * *

The next morning was rather normal – normal in Guild terms of course – we all had breakfast together once more as a group, laughter and shouts were most likely heard all morning from my dorm.

"I can't believe you slept for the entire day and night yesterday." Aegis joked.

Jenny laughed in agreement. "Yea! Who knew Liz was such a heavy sleeper!"

"Pardon me for falling ill." I defend myself in vain.

"At least you're looking better," Lucas remark with a chuckle.

"Yes, I do feel a lot better, I was actually planning on walking out today into the courtyard."

"Hmm, I guess it'll be okay – however, someone has to go with you just to make sure." Aegis' response was an order and not just a suggestion.

Jenny stood up upon hearing this. "I can go, my agenda is completely free today!"

"That settles things then," Aegis then proceeded to look at Lucas. "Wanna spar?"

Lucas' eyes lit up with determination. "Sure!"

"If anything happens to Blizzard, Jenny." The brunette gave her a menacing glare. "I'll have your head on a pike."

That was the last thing he said before leaving with Lucas.

Jenny let out a sigh. "Man, I'm currently on the hook aren't I..?"

"You did bump into him and broke a few plates, while also spilling leftovers all over the floor – oh, you also broke down his door." I reminded her with a gentle smile.

"Let's just drop it," Jenny just pinches the bridge of her nose. "Anyways, let me go get ready so we can head out."

I look down at my lower torso, it was completely wrapped in blankets in a way I couldn't possibly hope to get out of, alone. "I'll be waiting here, don't mind me."

* * *

As Jenny and I sat down under the shade of a tree, I realized how beneficial this area was for us Hunters. The park was peaceful and comfortable to be in, the area was just perfect for recovering from stress, injuries, or just having some alone time.

I could see Jenny moving from the corner of my eye. "This is probably my favorite area in the entire guild." She laid down on the grass and closed her eyes.

"Mind if I join you?" I ask the energetic girl.

"Go ahead, taking a nap here is great." Jenny's breathing slows down after a few seconds.

' _Huh, she falls asleep rather fast.'_ I shrug it off and decided to lay down on my back.

The tree above my head would occasionally move with the wind, giving off the magical sound of rustling leaves.  
It was relaxing and also a joy to watch in silence, every time they moved, sunlight would shine through and make the sight even more enchanting.

My eyes started feeling heavy, it didn't take long for me to doze off.

...

Two voices managed to wake me up, I sit up slowly and rub my drowsy eyes.

I look side to side, but I didn't see Jenny anywhere. ' _How odd, where did she go?'_

I hear a giggle behind me – to be precise, it was coming from the other side of the tree behind me.

' _Ah, there she is.'_ I stood up carefully in order to avoid any unnecessary strain on my legs and made way around the tree.

As I expected, Jenny was sitting there, however, someone else was also present. "I didn't expect you to arrive today." I alert the duo of my presence.

"Oh, good afternoon, Liz!" Jenny replies happily.

I glance at the man next to her, his black hair and dark blue eyes were easily recognizable.

"Once I got your letter, I just had to come running." The person known as Raito answered my previous statement.

"How long was I asleep?" I ask the blonde who was observing us.

Jenny blinked twice. "Uh, about an hour or so."

"Oh, by the way, Ryoku." Raito's way of calling out to me was unique, simply by using half of my last name. "I also brought someone with me,"

I tilt my head in response, but I soon feel something – or rather, someone – tug at my coat.

"Momo!" I say cheerfully as I see my felyne stand next to me.

"Nya! You left me behind, Meowster!" Momo said a bit annoyed.

I give her an apologetic look before picking her up and holding her in my arms. "I'm sorry, Momo, but Raito would have gotten lost without someone's guidance."

"Hey! I'm still here ya know."

Momo pondered for a bit, but she eventually gave in and nodded in agreement.

Jenny lets out a laugh at the scene in front of her. "Well, how about we all get something to eat as a celebration."

' _I swear she just wants an excuse to eat for free, I'm starting to feel bad for Aegis.'_ I watch the two get up and we start walking side by side towards the mess hall.

"I was told about your recent sickness, and let me say that I'm glad you're feeling better." I could tell that Raito was serious by the tone of his voice.

"Indeed, I should be back to full health by tomorrow."

"Momo was also worried, nya!" Momo wiggled in my arms as she expressed her emotions.

I giggle in response. "Yes, I'm grateful to have such amazing friends."

My eyes lit up as an idea presented itself in my head. "I should present you both to my close friends, here at the guild."

"I can go find them," Jenny suggested.

I kindly accept. "Thank you, Jenny."

As we approach the table, I let Momo go so she could sit by herself. "So, how did your errands go?"

Raito perks up after hearing my question. "It was great, my Brother is doing fine and the village looks healthier than ever."

"Wonderful," I take the small pause as an opportunity to call over a waiter so we could order our meals.

Once the waiter left, Raito passed me an envelope – I gave him a confused look as I picked it up.

"Momo gave it to me, something about the guild looking for us while we were away," Raito explained.

"Yes! Meowster has an important job to do."

' _Important job..?'_ I take out the letter that was inside, the first thing I notice was a sigil that I didn't recognize.

I decided to ignore it for now and started reading the contents.

' _Greetings Blizzard Ishi'Ryoku,  
The guild has requested your assistance for a rather important job, one that shouldn't be ignored in any way, this letter contains a sigil that can be showed to Dundorma's Air-transportation Headquarters; bring along with you four or five extra companions and equipment that can last you around six months.  
You have full permission to call in extra hands, however, this will only be tolerated after the initial week.  
Final orders: You have at the very least, seven days – from the day you receive this message – to prepare and leave Dundorma, also, you must burn this message upon contacting an airship with it.'_

The letter didn't say who it was from, not to mention, I had a sinking feeling about all this; especially since it was commanding me around like some type of Knight.

"When did you get this, Momo?" I ask as I fold the letter and put it away for safe keeping.

"The next day after Meowster left with friend!" The felyne responded.

I count the days left in my head. "Three days left, since today's the fourth one out of seven..." I mutter to myself.

"Pardon?" Raito was now curious as to what I was talking about.

I look around, countless people walking by and waiters would constantly come to our table and interrupt us. "Once we finish eating, we'll go to my room and I'll explain what I just read."

Raito reluctantly nodded and waited patiently.

"We're here!" Jenny shows up along with Lucas and Aegis.

' _Ah, perfect; I'll ask them to join me along with Raito after we finish eating.'_ I was still deciding internally if I wanted to risk taking them on this mysterious quest that would apparently last half a year.

"Hello everyone," I greet my friends as they take a seat at our table. "I would like to present to everyone, my friends, Raito and Momo." I gesture over to the two who were sitting in silence.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Raito Arashi." Greeted them with a faint smile.

"I'm Momo!" The small Palico exclaimed.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Aegis." The third in command offered a handshake to Raito.

"Howdy, my name is Lucas Heart!" Lucas smiled brightly.

"And you both already know me," Jenny added in.

After a couple of minutes of introducing each other, I decided to invite everyone to my dorm after our lunch break.  
I received confused looks at first, but they put the matter aside once food was placed in front of us.

* * *

An hour passed by, before finally heading into my room for some privacy.

"Sorry I got everyone in here at such a short notice," I take out the letter and handed it over to Aegis. "I received that message today, but Momo has kept said letter for around four days now."

Aegis' eyebrows lift up as he finished reading it. "So we have around three days to prepare?"

"Does that mean..?" I wasn't sure if he just accepted my invitation or not.

Aegis smiles as he passes the letter to the others. "I'm without a doubt, going with you."

"Us too!" Jenny and Lucas yelled in unison after a few seconds.

I look over to Raito who was putting the message away. "No matter where you go, I'll follow behind." He said with a determined look.

"Momo is also going, Meowster!" I look down and see my small companion hop with excitement.

A smile appeared on my face. "Thank you, everyone."

I took the time to stare into everyone's eyes, giving them a silent message of eternal gratitude for risking their lives without hesitation for a quest that wasn't even directed to them.

"I'll tell Beowulf about this, everyone else should start preparing." Aegis excused himself swiftly.

Jenny grabbed my hand. "We're definitely doing some shopping tomorrow!"

"Sure," I see Lucas and Raito head out of the room, however, Raito turned around.

"Lucas is going to help me snatch a dorm, rest well." And with that, they both left.

' _Looks like everyone will be busy for the rest of the day.'_

"I got some errands to do right now as well, especially now that we're leaving soon." Jenny let go of me and went for the door. "I'll knock on your door a few hours after sunrise, tomorrow."

"See ya, Jenny," I said as the blonde closed the door.

I look down and see Momo staring right back at me. "You can sleep on the bed, Momo."

The bed was large enough for us both, especially since Momo was a rather small Palico when compared to other ones.

"Okay, Meowster."

' _I should pack things up, for now, I'll then list things that I need after seeing what I currently have on me.'_

...

The rest of the day would consist of me cleaning my entire room, packing stuff, counting certain materials, and visiting the Guild's item store.  
When everything was said and done, dusk had already arrived and it was time to head to bed.

* * *

 **AN:** Almost there! Around two or maybe even one more chapter, and this introduction arc will finally be finished. The main story will be posted on this same website, under the name of **Kuraun Hunters!**

It's time to describe our two newcomers.

 **Raito Arashi  
** Height: 6'4  
Eye color: Dark blue  
Hair color: Black  
Age: 21  
Skin tone: Light

 **Momo  
** Height: 1'6  
Eye color: Ruby  
Fur color: Completely white  
Age: Unknown


	5. Chapter 5: Keep Fighting

**_Disclaimer:_** **I in no way claim the Monster Hunter series as my own, all content goes to their rightful creator.  
**

* * *

I woke up to the sound of birds singing outside my window, the sky was painted with a mixture of blue and orange, as the sun appeared slowly over the horizon.  
I open the window and let the gentle breeze of autumn sway my hair side to side, the strong smell of nature's aroma was evident in the air as I took in a deep breath, followed by a sigh in order to start the day.

' _Winter is right around the corner, and soon this sea of orange and yellow will turn gray, dull, and white, however, all of the seasons are beautiful in their own way.'_

Recollections of yesterday's events, spirals in my mind, from the mysterious letter, to Jenny's suggestion of shopping, and the reunion with Raito and Momo.

' _Speaking of which,'_ I turn around and let my eyes search the bed; they soon spot a small Felyne curled up in a ball, sleeping peacefully. ' _To think a street cat would grow into a brave soldier like her.'_

A hunter would always receive a Carving-Knife with one's name, but we would also receive a Felyne partner if we accepted one.

I had rejected the offer numerous times, every time I would enter a new region or guild; the offer would be there and yet I would reject it kindly.

It would have stayed that way if I never came to Dundorma and got lost in the city during a rainstorm.

 _Flashback._

The rain was pouring down heavily, I did my best to pick up the pace; it was rather futile at this point, so I had to step into an alley for shelter and wait it out.

' _Why is it raining at this time of the year?'_ We were in mid-winter, so the cold breeze and rain were devastating to most people.

I let out a sigh, frosty breath appearing before my face, as I pocket my hands and march through the lonely alley.  
The area was rather narrow, enough for two people to walk shoulder to shoulder, it was also littered with trash, giving an awful mixture of smells that was worse than Congalala's territorial defense tactics.

I hear sudden movement, which caused me to sidestep and dodge a rolling trash can.

"S-Sorry." Was all I heard after the sudden event.

My eyes look around for the owner of said voice. "Show yourself." I narrow my eyes, waiting for their next move.

"I'm right here, nya..." The voice said weakly.

I glance down and spot a small Felyne covered in dirt, wet fur, and looked hungry.

Almost instantly, my face shifted from one of annoyance to one of sympathy.

"P-please don't punish me, human." The small one said in fear as I crouched down.

"Punish you? On the contrary little one, I should help you." I say with a gentle smile.

The Felyne stares at me with confused ruby colored eyes. "H-help, me?"

The small exchange may seem insignificant for most, but the mere sight of seeing someone in such a state kept reminding me of my past self.

"Of course," I suddenly remember the scarf I was wearing, it didn't really help me against the weather – it was mostly there for looks. "Here, let me shelter you."

At first, the creature was scared, as if staying near my kind was already an enormous leap of faith, let alone trusting one.

"Go on, trust me," I say warmly, as I felt rain drops drip down my hair and face.

The Felyne finally gave in and hugged the cloth with all their strength. "It's warm, nya."

I giggle at the response. "My name is Blizzard Ishi'Ryoku, may I have yours?"

Their voice was muffled, but I could still understand what they said. "I don't have one..."

' _Ah, so the little one is truly alone and abandoned.'_ I could feel the pressure building up in my heart, telling me to follow what's right.

"Alright.., Momo, would you like to come home?" I ask the Felyne softly.

Her ears perk up at the question, confusion was evident in her eyes, but upon seeing my hand outstretched towards her, things were now clear as to what I meant.

Momo stumbles forward to my open arms. "H-home? I'll have a home?"

My voice was barely a whisper, only sensitive ears would be able to hear my words. "Everyone deserves a second chance against this cruel world..."

"Thank you, Meowster!" Momo jumped into my arms, allowing me to finally stand up and start walking to my original destination – No, to _our_ destination known as, home.

 _End of Flashback.  
_

And now, almost a year has passed since I met Momo – I look out the window one last time before deciding on what to do next.

' _Jenny should be up and ready, in a couple of hours, I'll burn some time by training outside.'_

* * *

The mess-hall was lonely, only a few workers were currently up and running – cleaning tables here and there, making sure things were in proper order like usual.

After taking the back door and stepping outside, I take a right turn and head towards the ancient oak tree.  
A couple of steps later, the training field was already in view, however, just like the inside of the mess hall the place was lonesome.

' _Can't blame them, it has been less than an hour since dawn.'_

The arena itself was unique in our guild, instead of a singular rectangular area, ours was a circle that went around the entire oak tree. Unlike knights, we train ourselves to take in as much information as we can with a single glance about our surroundings.

The tree's roots that took over half of the ground around this field was nothing more but extra elements that us Hunters must take into account at all times.  
We aren't knights who run in and fight monsters, nor heroes that never fall against mighty dragons, we're rangers who've mastered nature and all of its elements; those who use this knowledge against their prey are known as, Monster Hunters.

I approach a small building, it used to be the boy's dorms – but now it's a place where we store practice weapons and other useful training equipment.

As I enter the old cabin, I already see dust flying around and could smell the weird aroma of wet wooden planks, the floor would creak with each step I took.

A room label as – _Sword & Shield, Dual-Blades_ – caught my attention.

I was planning on further improving my Sword & Shield skills, and in the process of doing so, my Charge-Blade attacks would also increase in quality.

Proceeding to enter, I spot a few wooden swords laying around.

As I grab a wooden blade that fits perfectly with my arm's length, I search for the shield counterpart that goes along with it.

After a few minutes of searching, I notice that I was now rechecking the same shields I had previously tossed aside.

"How odd..." As I mutter to myself I hear footsteps behind me, which made me turn around with the wooden blade in hand.

"Huh?" A male figure stood at the doorway with drowsy eyes.

It was Lucas, whose eyes soon lit up with recognition. "Howdy, Liz."

"Morning," I say back to him.

Lucas soon saw the conditions of the room and stared at my practice weapon. "Uh, are you trying to find the other blade?"

"Pardon?"

Lucas nods slowly. "The blade in your hand, you do know that's part of the Dual-Blade set."

As Lucas tells me this, I can't help but feel a bit embarrassed, especially since I been looking for a shield the entire time – I could already feel my cheeks turning bright red.

Lucas starts laughing as he realizes the situation.

I try to defend myself. "I never used these practice weapons before, so I had no clue."

He calms down a bit before responding. "Man, that was hilarious, you were glowing red for a bit!"

"I deserve this," I say with a sigh.

Lucas points to a box next to me. "Grab a blade from there,"

I nod and grab a blade in the box, I then look at Lucas who has a confident smile, a face I knew all too well as a Huntress.

"Want to spar?" We said in unison.

* * *

We step on opposite sides of each other, the only audience we had was the great oak tree, judging us with the wisdom it has gained by watching Hunters train every day.

My knowledge with the Dual-Blades was average, but this wasn't unique or anything, for the Guild, teaches every Hunter the basics of every weapon, however, mastering a weapon is a completely different thing.  
Lucas has mastered the Dual-Blade and Sword&Shield, I'm all but a simple rookie when compared to his skill level.

However, this young man has one more special trait, Lucas' personality changes during hunts – or even when training, he becomes serious and confident; this is the sole reason why I believe he's one of the strongest Hunters in our guild.

"Alright, I'm set," Lucas shouts from the other side. "What about you, Liz?"

"I'm ready to go!"

"Cool, first one to fall down loses," Lucas instructed.

I nod in agreement. "Very well."

We take five steps towards the center, leaving a distance of around fifteen feet between us.

We both draw our blades and put ourselves in similar Dual-Blade positions, mine was just the plain simple one that the guild taught us, Lucas was using a unique stance that he made solely for himself.

"I insist, ladies go first," Lucas tells me without breaking eye contact.

"What a gentlemen you are." I humor him as I prepare myself to dash forward.

The distance between us was closed in the blink of an eye, right as we enter striking range – countless blows were already being exchanged against each other.

My reflexes kick in as I sense a dangerous blow coming from above; sidestepping just in time to dodge the incoming downward slash, I quickly back away and re-plan my approach.

"Impressive, you dodged my attack with ease, even though we had never fought before," Lucas says in a serious tone.

"Fight a Nargacuga and come back to me," I smirk lightly.

Lucas gives me a confused look for only a second. "I shouldn't underestimate our second in command then."

We resume the battle once more with harsh blows, every strike would get dodged or blocked, the endless striking patterns thrown at each other in the sole attempt of gaining ground – was now turning our sparring match into some sort of blade dance.

I try to distance myself, but Lucas pursuits me with small demon-dashes, resuming our battle once more and making it almost impossible to escape his pressure.

One strike, followed by a second attack, I had to block the second strike with both my blades; while using the force to slide away and perform a tumble backward, this allowed me to gain more than enough feet between us.

"If you keep defending, you'll never be able to use the Dual-Blades properly," Lucas said those words with a bit of venom – taunting me to fight blindly.

The attempt of luring me to a trap was obvious, however, this trap is using a bait that cannot be ignored; resorting to pure defense will indeed make me lose.

' _I won't be able to win by attacking either, then maybe, just maybe...'_

I remember the roots around us and the rule that would determine the victor.

I can win this match by simply making Lucas fall to the ground, but I'm sure this is his plan as well.

We both move forward – blades ready to strike – the wooden weapons collide and the sound of the collision rings through the battlefield once more.

I go for a double strike, Lucas proceeds to block both of them with a single blade – I did my best to retreat but it was too late – I felt a strong force hit me on my shoulder.  
Ignoring the pain was enough to allow me to retaliate with a jab, and successfully putting myself back on the aggressive.

Lucas realized the situation he was in, his response was a sudden double strike against my wounded left shoulder, I naturally block with both my own weapons – the strike was strong enough for me to use the momentum against him with a counter spin attack, landing a direct hit to his left ribs.

Lucas endures the pain and proceeded to trap my right arm by lifting it up with his own limb, exposing my entire abdomen to his knee.  
The impact lifted me ever so slightly – my opponent jumps back – expecting me to fall onto the ground without the support of his body in front of me.

Luckily, said tactic would have only worked on anyone who was heavier than me.

"It doesn't take much strength to lift me, especially if I jump at the same time I got hit." A fake smile appears on my face as I return to my original stance.

"Truly astonishing, Commander," Lucas says in awe. "It has been awhile since someone has managed to dodge my attacks so perfectly, I'm actually having a hard time keeping up."

As Lucas compliments me, I take this moment to catch my breath and quickly go through my options.

My little trick only works once, next time, he'll make sure to pin my feet to the ground and land a harsh blow.  
I also realized that making him fall off his feet was no going to work, I needed another plan, one that is two steps ahead of him at all times.

' _Easier said than done..._ ' I let out a sigh – this current situation is exactly the same as a Kelbi fighting a Rathalos, and I was currently the weaker one.

Standing my ground, I steel myself against any incoming attacks as Lucas closes the gap between us with a single dash.  
Every strike I blocked, once again, forces me to dodge the second strike in less than a second; said pattern was being rather obvious at this point, a block into a dodge, rinse and repeat.

Lucas notices my technique and delayed his second strike – in the hopes of it throwing me off – unfortunately for him, he fell into my trap.

"Think again!" I shout as I stab his stomach with the wooden sword, followed by an elbow strike to his chin.

Lucas stumbles back in pain but showed no signs of being knocked out.

I could barely make out what he said after recovering. "Guess I don't have to hold back..!"

At the edges of Lucas' body, I could see a faint red aura; uncanny resemblance to dragon blight.

A quick glance at my feet and then behind me was enough to form a plan in my head. ' _Alright, I can still win this.'_

I look back just in time to start blocking the barrage of attacks, this time the strikes were stronger, with each block I performed – more and more stamina was being drained away from my arms and causing them to feel numb.

Proceeding to deadlock both of his weapons with mine, I begin the first step of my devious idea.

' _If I'm correct, Lucas will see the oak tree behind me and start pushing me towards it in order to corner me.'_

My prediction was spot on, Lucas started dragging my feet backwards towards the corner where I would surely meet my fate.

I put the plan in motion by leaning my body forward and using Lucas as support – The young man thought I was fighting back, but he was completely wrong. Lucas was allowing me to lean forward and put my heels high with toes to the ground.

We suddenly stopped due to an unexpected force – a factor that Lucas didn't foresee, but I did.

* * *

*Raito's POV*

Jenny and I met at the mess hall, I was up early because I wanted to check out the Guild, and Jenny was apparently waiting for Blizzard to show up.

Once we looked out the window, we saw two familiar faces fighting outside – being observed by a few other people.

And here we are, watching Lucas and Ryoku in awe as they spar.

"Lucas is using Demon-Mode," Jenny says quietly next to me.

At first glance, it seemed like Ryoku lost the match once she started getting overwhelmed by Lucas' sheer strength.

"Lucas fell into her trap," I mutter as my eyes spot an important factor.

"Huh?" Jenny sounded very confuse to this.

As I watch Blizzard defend against his attacks and step backwards on purpose, I could already see the disguised trap that I have fallen against many times.

"Lucas lost unless he has the strength to move an entire tree the size of a building." My explanation was timed perfectly with Ryoku suddenly holding her ground against the deadlock.

Jenny let out a gasp of surprise, as she saw what was going on; Blizzard was using the bulky sprouted roots – around the training ground – as pillars of support.

Ryoku caught Lucas by surprise and landed two stabs in the stomach region once more, she was now gaining ground at rapid speed while Lucas couldn't budge her at all.

"Blizzard has a unique way of fighting, she uses every small asset to her advantage just to gain enough leverage against any opponent," I tell Jenny with pure experience out of just practicing against Ryoku.

"So she uses everything around her?" Jenny questions as we observe the ongoing fight.

The match was currently at a stall, both fighters were now gaining and losing ground almost equally, but Blizzard was in the lead somehow – or at least it felt that way.

"Sort of, Ryoku does use her own skills of course, but she also uses a handful of extra elements against anyone who stands in her way." I was careful with my wording, as I was rather distracted by the performance of both Hunters.

Jenny didn't say anything for a couple of seconds, most likely due to thinking.  
"She uses their strength, stamina, movement, and surroundings against them." The young lady concluded.

"Correct, that's why I have never bested her." A bittersweet smile appears on my face.

' _It takes two to start a fight, so why not use everything the other person has, against them.'_

Those were the words Ryoku once told me after I asked her desperately how she would always win against me during our practice matches.

It was now obvious that Lucas was slowing down, however, Ryoku mimicked the same speed Lucas was going at no matter what.  
She was truly representing a blizzard – devouring any signs of life, no matter how much it struggled to escape.

"If you can't beat your own reflection, don't bother trying to beat her," I say with a small chuckle.

"Man, I didn't know the Vice President was this scary, and I thought commander Aegis was terrifying when angry." Jenny was taken aback at the scene in front of her, but I didn't blame her.

"Has Ryoku not spar with anyone in the guild?" I take a quick glance to Jenny, who says no with her head.

"Liz never liked fighting against others, I guess today was different."

"Interesting." My words were barely a whisper.

' _So she got the courage to fight others because of me, I guess I really did annoy her.'_ I hold in the urge to chuckle.

The sound of wood breaking alerted my attention back to the duel.

' _Ah, looks like things are about to get serious.'_ My mind races with questions – but the main one was evident.

"What will you do now, Ryoku?" I mutter under my breath.

* * *

 **Lucas POV**

' _Blizzard is extremely talented!_ '

Those are some of the phrases my peers or allies would say when her name is mention, I can safely say that they're correct.

Blizzy _is_ without a doubt out of my league, and I certainly wasn't expecting someone to use a damn tree against me.

As I kept slashing at her, my strikes became more sluggish and predictable, my D _emonization_ was finally getting to me.  
I exit my demon mode and enter Archdemon, allowing me to dish out faster and precise – but weaker attacks; luckily this change in tactics surprised Liz long enough for me to land two strikes, one of her blades broke and the second attack struck true.

Fortunately, Liz backs away and gives me some time to recover, honestly, I was doing my best to hide my fatigue from her – for I had no clue when she would go all out.

' _I just need more time, enough for me to enter Demon-Mode one last time and end this.'_ I look back at my opponent's eyes.., they were blank, emotionless, but I could sense an infinite river of wisdom – it was unnerving, to say the least.

I charge forward, this would be the last time we engage – one of us will fall this time.

* * *

 **Blizzard's POV**

I stop in my tracks after Lucas countered with an Archdemon double slash attack, staring into his eyes was enough to tell me that Lucas was about to go all out.

I take a different stance since I was no longer using two blades – it was time use the knowledge that I gain from training with Raito for countless days.

' _This is where I lose no matter what ... That would be true if we were using real weapons.'_

I enter a combat stance, twisting my body and allowing my right side to lead as my left foot slid back by half a pace. I raised my single blade in a two-handed grip at the level of my shoulder, the tip of the blade pointing towards my opponent's heart.

Lucas closed the gap between us with Demon-Dashes, as soon as he entered striking range – we started exchanging attacks for what would be the final time, a victor would be determined at this crucial moment.

I let some of the blows strike me on the head and other vital areas, which would mean utter defeat in a sparring match of points, this wasn't the case, however.

' _First to fall, loses.'_ I kept repeating that phrase in my head as I endured the pain.

I was waiting for the young man to repeat one of his previous patterns – to be more precise, a pattern that I memorized through the entire battle; keeping my ground until the very end was my only hope of winning.

Dodge after dodge, the block into a strike, all of these movements were costing me huge amounts of stamina – my adrenaline had run out long ago, the battle was now at its finale.

I saw Lucas bend his knees and shuffle his feet at a slight angle. ' _Now my chance!'_

Lucas goes for the Demonization double spin, I react accordingly in order to seize victory.

After dodging the first spin attack, I tackle Lucas' lower torso while he was mid-air before he could properly spin a second time; this, in turn, caused the Dual-Blade user to roll down my back, and ultimately, fall onto the ground behind me.

Lucas coughs a bit as he laid there. "I don't believe this outcome."

I giggle as I turn to help him get up. "Don't worry, I lost."

"How so?" Lucas grabs my hand and gets up.

I point at the wooden blades. "If they were real, I would be dead by now, however, I took advantage of them being wooden toys and solely won via our initial agreement."

Lucas looks at me dumbfounded for a bit. "I guess that makes me feel better." Lucas just laughs it off.

I notice a small crowd watching us, alongside two familiar faces who were now waving us to come over.

"Looks like we have some company." I motion with my eyes what I was referring to.

Lucas follows my gaze and greets our friends with a wave. "Yea, let's all go get some breakfast."

* * *

"Liz, you're amazing, why haven't you train us before!" Jenny was hyperactive like usual at the table.

"I can't really teach others that well," I say a small lie just to skip some troublesome questions.

"Aww, I'm sure you can train an entire group..." Jenny sits back with a pout.

I let my eyes wander around the table, Aegis had joined us but was currently managing some paperwork, Lucas and Raito were talking to each other – it seems the two are becoming friends rather easily.

"Want some help, Aegis?" I offer him since I was done with my meal.

Aegis looks up and smiles. "Nah, thanks for asking, though."

I nod and look back at Jenny, who was still eating somehow. "Jenny, don't eat too much; we have to go to the district once you're done."

Lucas decides to poke the Deviljho after hearing me. "Yea, or else Liz will need to roll you down the street."

"Look right here you damn Blangonga butt-head, I'll beat the living crap out of you with my hammer," Jenny shouts back and throws a fork towards Lucas – who barely dodges out of the way.

"Hey! You could have poked my eye out!"

"Maybe that was my plan!"

They both proceed to stand up and bark words at each other.

I slam my fist down at the table, quieting both of them. "Both of you sit down and don't you speak till we leave the table."

Aegis is the only one who laughs. "I would listen to her if I were you,"

They both sit down and say a silent ' _Yes, ma'am.'_

"Blizzy, I'll be taking Lucas and Raito for some storage managing – for the trip that is." Aegis breaks the silence.

"That'll be fine,"

"Yea, but I'll need the paper and we'll have to rent out a Vessel."

"Ah, of course," I point at Raito who was smiling lightly. "My friend has the letter if I remember correctly."

Raito springs back into reality. "Correct, I forgot to give it back yesterday."

"No harms done, just go with Aegis and follow his instructions," I order the swordmaster.

"Of course, your words are law." Raito response slightly annoyed me.

I turn to Jenny, who had the face of a recently scolded child playing with her food.

"As for you, young lady," I got her attention with ease. "Go get ready, we're leaving in a few minutes."

Jenny stands up. "Finally!" The blonde then rushes upstairs.

"Best for me to go now as well, have fun with your errands," I tell the guys before dismissing myself.

* * *

As I enter my room, I notice that the place was cleaner than usual.

"Momo?" I call out to my small friend.

I hear movement before a felyne enters my field of vision. "Welcome back, nya!"

"I'll be leaving soon after I get ready, would you like to come along?" I ask Momo as I start moving around in preparation.

"Momo would love to join!" The small Felyne responded happily.

"Great, just give me a few minutes."

It didn't take long till I was ready, using my same old armor since I wasn't into wearing normal girl clothing, out in public.

I hear a knock at the door as I was grabbing my Carving-Knife. "That must be Jenny, let's go Momo."

Momo runs up to me so I can pick her up and leave the room, Jenny was waiting for me out in the hall.

"Oh, Momo is coming too?" Jenny's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Yup, can't leave her locked inside all day." I close the door and we finally head out.

...

The trading district was a large main street, with countless open street shops on the sidewalk, buildings that lead into expensive stores, restaurants, and many other unique places.  
It was busy like always, we could hear an endless amount of voices coming from countless conversations mashed up together as we walk through the busy crowd. Our noses would also get bombarded with different aromas due to the great amount of food stands placed in every corner.

"Hey, I see the shop!" Jenny tries her best to speak above the crowd, she was currently holding my sleeve so we wouldn't get separated.

"Go ahead and lead the way," I let her tug me to the right direction through the messy crowd.

We enter a small clothing building and head in, we walk separate ways of each other, I only really needed two things for the winter.

"Meowster, look!" Momo points to a white scarf as I walk by a section.

The scarf brought good memories, mostly because the scarf I gave to Momo back then was the same color, sadly the old scarf was lost a few months back – which did make Momo a bit sad at first.

"Sure, we'll buy it," I tell her as I pick up the folded fabric.

I wonder around the store and think about what to get next, which was rather hard since I'm practically immune to the cold due to my Father's insane training regimens back at Pokke village.

 _'..._ _I don't really need much more. Maybe a coat?'_

Just to make sure, I buy a coat that goes down to my upper thighs. It was just a brown coat with small pockets at the front, along with buttons if I feel like covering my chest.

"Alright, let's find Jenny and head back," I tell Momo who was waiting patiently in my arms.

"Momo saw Meowster's friend over at the counter." Momo points towards the entrance with her paw.

I head over to said area and spotted Jenny carrying a few bags, our eyes met and she walks over to me.

"You're kinda slow when buying stuff, aren't ya." Jenny grins.

I look down at the large amount of stuff she got. "It was hard to pick what I truly needed," I say sincerely.

Jenny shrugs and points to the cashier. "Go and pay so we can get out of here."

When we head outside, I notice that it was now nearing sunset and the streets were slightly less busy.

"Oh, look!" Jenny leaves my side and goes up to a food stand – or should I say, a bakery store.

"Want one, Momo?" I look down at Momo who was staring at me with hungry eyes.

"Yes, please."

* * *

We arrive at the front gate of the guild a bit after sunset and decided to leave our stuff at our rooms before entering the mess hall for dinner.

Once I did arrive at the mess hall, I see Aegis sitting alone at a table – so I naturally decided to join him.

"Good evening, Aegis." He was currently reading a book.

Aegis looks up in surprise. "Oh! Sup, Blizzy."

"I got back from shopping with Jenny," I explain to him.

"Ah, is that so? Well, welcome back." He nods before eyeing his book again.

' _He seems rather distracted, hopefully, I'm not intruding.'_

"Did things go well with the arrangements of finding a ship?" I decided to get his attention away from the book.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot; did you know the letter is from Yselz?" The brunette asked me.

"Yselz..?" It took me awhile to remember where I heard that name before. "You mean, the capital that made the Great-Defense?"

"The very same, and we scored a great deal with a Captain, he'll join us for the entire adventure," Aegis said with pride.

I let out a chuckle since it was expected. "I'm not surprised, both you and Lucas are amazing at handling deals."

' _Speaking of Lucas, and Raito, I don't see them anywhere.'_

Aegis notice my eyes searching for something. "If you're looking for the other two, they're moving some cargo over to the ship, they should be back soon."

"Ah, that makes sense." I then point at his book, since I was rather curious about it. "So, what're you reading?"

"About Yselz actually," Aegis lends me the small handbook. "Did you know the kingdom is sitting above a dormant volcano with a lake in its crater?"

I flip a few pages until I stop on a map that shows where Yselz is. "Really now? That's rather interesting, to say the least."

' _Alright, the map shows Dundorma, and judging by the distance it would take around two days to get there via airship.'_

Closing the book, I give Aegis my full attention. "Yea, there also a high chance of snowing at this time of the year," He says with an all knowing smile.

"Snow, huh.., that'll put me at ease, I was really hoping it wasn't a desert."

"The chances were low, anyways, did you buy winter clothing?" Aegis changes the subject.

"Yes, both Jenny and I bought some, even though I probably won't use them that much."

Aegis lifts an eyebrow. "Full-Bloods are weird, I have no clue why you guys adapt in such weird ways depending on where you're born."

I just shrug it off, since I really didn't know either. "Jenny should be here in a bit."

"Ugh, I'll be completely broke before the deal is over," Aegis says with a heavy tone.

' _Maybe I should help him out for today, I think the stress is getting to him again.'_

"I can pay for your food tonight." I offer with a gentle smile.

Aegis looks shocked for a bit. "Huh? B-But, I couldn't, I mean, I shouldn't… You're a girl and well…" Aegis shutters as I tilt my head in confusion.

"And? We're friends, I really don't mind." I shrug his doubts away. "Plus I have enough Zenny to spare a meal, I can even pay for Jenny's meal if you like."

Aegis blinks before bowing his head in respect. "I would be very grateful, Vice President, Goddess, legend, best friend."

I can't help but laugh. "Don't mention it, Aegis. You deserve it after the hard work you have done."

Aegis responded with a smile, but he excuses himself and starts finishing up some paperwork.

This was fine by me since Jenny soon arrived, and it also didn't take long for the other two boys to join soon share our daily events, jokes, and just laugh together at the table for the rest of dinner time.

Moments like these are the reason why I keep fighting for my life in this devastating world.

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ Alright, since there isn't a new character this chapter, I'll be explaining something about my story that isn't the same in the games.

Armors: Unlike in the video games, the armors in my stories don't have unique skills that make zero sense whatsoever. Unless the armor has a bulky helmet or anything that shields the ears, Earplugs will not be given to the user; that is one example.

Anyways, in my world, armors are divided into three categories: Light, Medium, and Heavy.

Light weight armor will give skills like: Evade distance and Evasion, but will reduce defense. (Defense down Small or more, depends on the armor.) - Kirin armor falls into this category, or leather/chain mail.-

Medium: Minor bonuses but no real weakness, an example would be: Attack up small, defense small, earplugs (If it has the right helmet).  
-Rathalos and other normal full body armor go into this category.-

Heavy: Defense up large, Evasion down, evade distance down, guard up skills, etc. -Ukanlos, Uragaan, etc.-

And yes, Female and Male armor will have different categories if their armor has obvious differences. A good example would be the Deviljho armor, or the Stonefist armor from MHG - males would be considered medium, while the female would be light. (Material of monster would also be considered, like Nargacuga, its armor would be considered Light-weight.)

I'm sure you get the general idea by now, armor sets will be more realistic and mix sets won't be needed in this world of mine.


	6. Finale: A Mysterious Future

**Disclaimer: I in no way claim the Monster Hunter series as my own, all content goes to their rightful owners.**

* * *

 **The next day.  
** _  
Blizzard's POV_

I was currently outside at the training grounds – an hour after dawn – just like yesterday.

However, this time I was just training on my strikes with a single wooden sword – one that represented a katana.  
I was also not alone, Lucas was nearby training with his Dual-Blades.

"Hey, Liz." Lucas catches my attention as I take a short break. "I forgot to tell you something about our trip's location."

I place the wooden blade on my shoulder as I listen to him. "I'm all ears."

"Yselz is actually my homeland," What Lucas said made me raise an eyebrow. "I'll be able to give everyone a place to stay at my parent's house."

"If it isn't too much of a bother, that would be very helpful." I smile in gratitude.

Lucas chuckles and reassures me with a shake of his head. "Fear not, it won't be a hinder at all to them."

"Very well," I turn to resume my training, but Lucas stops me.

"Actually, I want to offer one more thing." The young man says with a smile.

"I hope it isn't a sparring match." I joke lightly.

Lucas shakes his head in disagreement. "I rather not challenge you, instead, I would like to improve your Dual-Blade skills slightly."

"Is that so? Well, I don't see why I wouldn't agree."

"Great, I had some neat ideas and since you already have the basics down, I believe you should learn how to summon Demonization and Archdemon."

"Is that even possible? I never really trained for such a thing before." I look at my sword as I wonder if such a feat was even possible.

Lucas just gives me a thumbs up. "Of course it is, I can help you cheat a bit and skip the useless training regimens."

I give a concerned look. "Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"Nonsense, if you're able to summon the Spirit-Guage when using a Longsword, you'll be able to use both Dual-Blade modes," Lucas explains with a confident tone.

 _'That makes a bit of sense at least,'_ I nod and decided to continue with this offer.

"Keep in mind that you can summon Demonization at any given time, however, the strains it'll put on your body if it isn't a light and fast weapon like the Dual-Blades – will be devastating." The warning was simple, but I made sure to make a mental note, on said detail.

"Alright, how can I enter Demonization." I was actually a bit excited, learning something like this was rather rare.

Lucas chuckles. "Patience, in order to pull off such a feat – I'll need you to concentrate and focus solely on something that causes anger and pain."

' _Those two emotions don't sit well with me, but I'll do my best to search for something appropriate in my memories.'_ I let Lucas know that I was ready with a nod.

"Demonization activates certain instincts that are related to our ancestors, it's also directly linked to a Wyvern's Rage-Mode, this is why the previously mentioned emotions are necessary." Lucas hands me over his weapons and gestures to enter my combat stance.

After I follow his instructions, I couldn't help but ask about the other mode. "I assume that Archdemon has a different need in order to be used."

"Correct! You'll need to strike your opponent while in Demon-Mode, and either draw blood or hit them hard, keep in mind that memories of victories and being confident is important when switching over to Archdemon."

"Seems simple enough, I'll try to enter Demonization then." I face a target dummy and forced myself to feel anger, sorrow, and pain.  
Memories that I prefer to not speak of, were currently being used as ammo.

Lucas interrupts my concentration."By all means, go ahead if you feel ready – but I must warn you, the first time you enter this state will be scary, so don't get intimidated by it."

' _You're not helping Lucas,'_ I smile for a second before resuming my focus.

At first, I felt nothing but the emotions I brought upon myself – I did my best to keep remembering my dark past, in hopes of awakening this demonization.  
However, just before I gave up, my heart felt like it was on fire and soon enough – I could see a faint aura flowing around my field of vision.

I was shocked at first, but I could feel myself drifting away as if I was about to enter a deep slumber. Everything around me was much brighter, and it was hard to make out anything that wasn't in my reach – as if I was blinded by an invisible fog.

"Turn and face your target, pour all your emotions into one single strike, do not let fear control you." The voice was distant, but I could tell it was Lucas.

I quickly dash forward with little to no effort, my target was almost glowing as I approached it; I proceeded to land two strikes – one with each blade.  
The sound of wood cracking upon impact indicated that my attack was stronger than I intended.

"Good job, now think about the guild and how everyone here makes you feel safe or happy."

I follow the instructions and I felt as if cold water washed over me.

"What in the world..?" I start panting, and I felt like I just ran for hours straight.

"You unlock Demonization!" Lucas happily explains as he stands next to me.

I accidently drop my weapons and start rubbing my head. "I feel rather odd still as if a hammer hit me on the head."

"Don't worry, that's what happens the first time you use such power." Lucas made sure I was okay before continuing to speak. "You're a natural by the way, I have never seen someone enter Demonization at the first attempt and control it completely."

"Wouldn't that mean I have anger issues?" I was actually concerned for my mental state, considering what I need in order to use such power.

"Err ... Not really, no matter how much we try – we never truly forget the emotions behind any memories we create." Lucas was careful with his wording, it was easy to understand his explanation thanks to that.

I bend over to pick my practice weapons. "Now what?" I ask him as I stand up properly.

"Now you can summon Demonization by just thinking about the memory you just used."

"Simple as that?" I ask him.

Lucas nods with a smile. "Yup, you can always change what triggers it, but you'll have to experience what you just did all over again – the stronger the emotions behind the memory, the stronger Demon-Mode will be."

"Very well, but how about Archdemon." I was ready to move onto the next step.

Lucas was quick to explain with no hesitation. "Right, for every strike you land true, you'll be rewarded by double the amount of hits available for you in Archdemon, think about past victories and be confident in yourself while in Arch-Mode."

' _So I can hit my target four times, but first I'll have to enter Archdemon.'_ I clear my mind once more, countless battles that were won with hardships and effort fill my mind.

A hot-cold sensation seemed to appear almost instantly as I did so, I felt lighter and my vision was sharper for some odd reason – everything was almost the complete opposite of Demon-Mode.

The light purple aura dances around my vision, it was rather distracting at first, so I gave it my best efforts to focus on the training dummy.

With a single dash, I was able to reach striking range and deliver four precise strikes – I felt faster, and more accurate.

"Once your internal Demon-Guage runs out of energy, Archdemon fades away and you'll have to repeat the entire process once more." I nod at Lucas explanation. "However, Archdemon does not have an off switch, It will drain all of your Demon-Guage until nothing is left."

As Lucas says this, my aura fades away ever so slightly, before becoming fully invisible. "It goes back to slumber, just like the Longsword," I mutter as I lower my arms and exit my combat stance.

Lucas gives me a pat on the back. "Well, that's enough training for now, I'm sure you must be hungry by now."

"You're not wrong, and I would also like to say that I am very grateful for what I learned today."

Lucas chuckles. "Don't mention it, we'll improve your endurance when we have the chance."

And with that, we head over to the mess-hall – where we would finally have our much-needed breakfast break.

Everyone in our small group was present at the table once Lucas and I arrived, they each had different plans for today – especially the boys, who were currently planning out a list of things to do for this last day of preparation.

Jenny also had plans apparently, however, she said it was a secret and preferred not to say anything related to her activities today.  
This is when I decided to head over to the blacksmith that Lucas showed me a few days back, hopefully, Wayland had my Charge-Blade ready to go.

And so, I made way to Dundorma's shopping district.

Walking down the street, I hear the sound of children laughing and yelling – I turn the corner and find myself in front of the park that was near the guild.  
Normally I would be happy to glance and see the children playing peacefully, however, I was getting annoyed more and more before the scene in front of me.

"Stop! Give it back!" A young girl – around seven years old – shouted at a group of four boys a few years older than her.

"Look at her jump! She can't reach it!" The taller boy with a doll held high up in the air, said while laughing with his group of friends.

I look around and see if there were any parents nearby, unfortunately, this park is rather close to various houses and a Guild, so they don't tend to guard over the children.

I let out a sigh before heading towards the group. "Hey!"

They all stop and turn around to look at me, at first they were shocked and almost ran away, but completely ditched that idea upon seeing my armor.

"Give that doll back to the young girl," I exclaim with a commanding tone.

They quietly give the doll back to the young one, who was sobbing, she takes it as quick as she could and hugs it tightly.

"Good, I won't tell your parents of what transpired here, however, it's wrong to do such things and more so to a young girl." I scold them carefully, doing my best to not sound harsh.

"A hunter never steals, they protect and help others," I explain with a gentle smile.

The children around here most likely have family members in our Guild, so my best guess is that they look up to them as well.  
Luckily all the children nod in understanding, I then proceed to approach the little girl and got down on one knee in order to be at the same height as her.

The young girl looks back at me with teary eyes, a single raise of my hand was enough to cause a reaction out of her – specifically, protecting the doll with her body.

I giggle and smile at the young girl as I pat her head slowly. "I won't hurt you, my name is Blizzy, can I have yours?" I ask her in a soft tone.

"S-Sussie" She responds a bit shaken, it didn't take long for her sobbings to stop as I calm her down with a smile.

"Don't worry, Sussie – I'm sure these young men will stop bothering you." As I say this, I glare back at the boys, who all nod.

I soon have an idea in order to lighten up the mood. I want everyone to get along, so why not tell them a story – a story any Dundorma child would enjoy.

"Would everyone want to hear a tale about two hunters fighting a Rathian?" Not even a second had passed before all the children said yes in response.

Even Sussie seemed excited, despite being shaken up by the recent event.

I decide to lead them under the shade of a nearby tree, which they all sat in a semi-circle around me – Sussie sat next to me for a bit of protection, however.

"The tale will be about two close friends that went out and fought a fierce Rathian." I made it sound dramatic and heroic, for the sake of the children, but the original tale was vastly different in its own ways.

* * *

 _Flashback  
_

It takes place after I met Aegis, we had recently taken down a Rathalos as part of his training.

I was using my Heaven's Thunder, made out of the finest materials that a Lagiacrus could offer.  
While my partner was using the Leumundslist Glaive, under my supervision of course.

At the time, neither of us were inside a Private-Guild, and so we were currently sitting at a table inside of Val Harbar's Public-Guild.

Aegis was looking at the low-rank quest board. "Hmm … How about we hunt a Rathian next?"

I think about it for a bit. "Sure, I'm up for it."

I order a quest with said Rathian, the Questatrix hands me the quest with a red stamp of approval on it.

"Sweet, let's go already." Aegis was excited, he was more active and stress-free during these times.

*At Ancestral step.*

Aegis and I, set up camp and start preparing our equipment.  
The young man was currently wearing some Rathalos equipment with a large green leather coat, made out of Rathian wings for extra fire resistance.

As for myself, I was simply using the same old attire made out of Silver Rathalos materials.

"Almost set?" I look back at Aegis, who responded with a nod as he took out a large cage out of the supply box.

Upon opening the cage, a large creature – known as a Kinsect – flew out and attaches itself to Aegis' arm.  
It was rather skinny and had purple wings with a jet-black body, it also had scythe looking pincers.  
This type of kinsect was called a Speed-Kinsect, famous for its high-velocity flight abilities and being able to attach itself onto fast moving monsters with ease.

"We're both set!" He says as he feeds the Kinsect some nectar.

I nod and grabbed my Longsword, strapping it onto my waist.  
Since my style of using the longsword is different, I had to customize my weapon's length to a shorter version – this allowed me to dodge and punish with strong draw attacks in quick succession.

We head out of camp and start walking towards the open plains.

Soon enough, we hear some roars in the distance. We nod to each other and start walking a bit faster.  
Once we walk past some boulders, Aegis and I spot our target who was currently feasting with its back turned against us.

I give Aegis the signal, which causes him to stand back and take out his glaive in a ready position.

I reach into my pocket and took out some earplugs as I walked calmly towards the distracted Rathian.  
I unsheathe a small amount of my blade, the metal screeches and alerts the Rathian of my presence.

The so-called 'queen' slowly turns and glares at me, menacing eyes were my only warning to turn back and leave, however, I stood my ground.

Getting tired of my presence, Rathian pulls her head back before roaring straight in my face.

 _'Pathetic..!'_ I draw my blade and land a strong vertical slash across her face, it lets out a cry of pain as my sword dug deep into its left eye socket.

Rathian leaps back and hovers in place, the wind pressure lifts my coat in the process as if it was a flag. The flying wyvern entered rage mode, her mouth was lit up in a powerful ignis.

However, before the Wyvern could move in and attack me, a purple blur flew by me and latch itself onto the Rathian's head. The kinsect's purple wings turned into a bright crimson red as it absorbed the essence – it then flew back to its owner in only a matter of seconds, once it latches itself onto Aegis' arm; countless red scales were let loose into the air and surrounded both Aegis and me.

"I won't allow it!" Aegis yells as he performs a pole vault into the air and smacks the Rathian in the face.

The Rathian loses balance and falls to the ground and onto its strong legs, I rush forward and land an overhead slash on its wounded face.

Rathian tries to counter me by spinning in place, using her tail as a deadly weapon.

I duck under the tail and landed a counter slash on its leg – It spins a second time and forces Aegis to leap over the tail, luckily he took full advantage of this and landed straight on its back.

"Fall back!" Aegis yells while he stabs the Rathian's spine with his Carving-Knife.

Once the Queen of earth falls to the ground, Aegis leaps off and sends his Kinsect to the Rathian's wing and then onto its back scales. Upon absorbing the orange and white essence, the kinsect flew over to me and empowered my strength.

I take full advantage of the fallen Queen and concentrated my energy into my Longsword. The blade resonates with my emotions, activating the spirit of the blade and engulfing it with electricity.

I swing the energy blade – all hits connected on the Rathian's neck and cut deeply into its flesh until I felt her bones.  
I slash downwards with all my might and followed up with a successful Final-Slash, as I moved forward, my blade ran down its neck and secured the kill.

I look down at my weapon, it was completely clean – as if it didn't draw any blood, a silver aura begins dancing around my blade as I sheath it on my waist.

' _It died rather quickly sadly,'_ I turn around and observed the corpse, it showed no signs of being alive.

"Nice job, we'll get a good amount of Zenny out of this." Aegis walks up to me with his glaive strap on his back.

"Indeed, and your skills outside of the water are improving greatly," I compliment his hard efforts.

Aegis scratches the back of his head upon hearing this. "All I can say is thank you, I couldn't have done it without you."

"Don't mention it, if anything, you should be thanking yourself – you're the one who seeks out help in order to improve."

Aegis chuckles happily. "I'm glad we met, everything feels much safer and fun with a friend."

I smile in response to his words and started preparing to leave the Ancestral Steps.

 _End Of Flashback  
_

I obviously didn't tell the children that exact tale, for it was a bit too violent in my opinion. So I did change some words here and there, like telling them that the Rathian had fled instead of being killed by me.

"Wow!" The children around me exclaim as I finished telling them the story.

They all just kept saying how amazing Aegis and I was, which caused me to smile at their energy.

"The key to being a great hunter is being friendly and having companions with you. So how about everyone gets along and plays together for now on?" I say in a motherly tone.

They all agree and start playing together – even Sussie was excited. They were picking sticks and pretending to hunt monsters while role playing as legendary Hunters from various tales.

I just shrug and start walking out of the park, letting the children play in harmony.

"Thank you, big sister!" I heard Sussie yell as I walked away.

I flinch and turn around, they were all waving goodbye, I return the gesture with a smile.

 _'Alright, I spent enough time here, time to head over to the blacksmith.'_

I soon reach the blacksmith and enter the building, upon opening the door, a bell alarms anyone in the building about my presence.

Wayland is usually busy downstairs so he probably won't hear the bell or at least that was what I thought.

I hear three male voices talking at the back, where the counter is. Surprising enough, I see Aegis, Raito and Wayland talking.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." I voice out. All three turn to my voice.

"Oh! Young Blizzard! Welcome, welcome!" Wayland shouts.

"Heyo, Ryoku." "Yo, Blizzy." Raito and Aegis greet me

Wayland seems a bit confused at first. "Don't worry, Blizzard is a friend of ours," Aegis explains.

Wayland then nods and smiles. "So, Blizzy, are you here for your weapon?" Wayland ask.

I nod "Yes, please." I tell the large man. He then opens the wooden door and heads inside. Leaving Raito, Aegis and me alone.

"So you ordered a weapon?" Raito questions me.

"Yea, a new charge blade," I answer, Raito nods and Aegis is currently looking at his Gun Lance – which caught my attention.

"Is that yours, Aegis?" I ask him.

Aegis smiles with pride . "Yup! I'm taking this baby along with us." He says with joy.

The Gun Lance was made out of Silver Rathalos scales. "What name did you give it?"

"Eine Wahrheit, I'm really impressed by how it came out, Wayland is truly a legend." I could tell Aegis was happy.

I nod in agreement. "I personally think the weapon looks amazing,"

Aegis chuckles as he continues polishing the weapon with what I assume is Rath-Gleam.

Looking at Raito, I notice a familiar Longsword wrapped in bandages; sheathed on his back.

"You're taking your families sacred treasure?" I ask him.

"Correct, I plan on taking this mission very seriously." Raito flatly tells me.

Raito is an extremely strong Swordmaster, he may not look like it, but he hails from a clan high up in the mountains. A clan that survives countless thunderstorms, due to his sword, Arashi of Fulmination or in other words – Tempest of Violent thunders.

Pass on to the children of the chief for generations, Raito was next in line and is respected like a prince in his homeland.  
He can also control the electricity of his blade with ease, able to manipulate it into unthinkable positions for any type of situation during battle, however, he only knows how to use the Longsword.

The door opens and Wayland walks into the room while holding the Charge-Blade.

"Here it is! I mix the materials with the Deviljho and Shagaru magala parts." Wayland explains.

All three of us had a look of shock upon seeing such beauty.

The axe was similar to the shagaru Charge-Blade but yet smaller. Instead of blue spikes, it had red crimson blades.

"I made the Charge-Blade fully custom to your size, Huntress," Wayland explains.

I nod and I pull out the blade from the axe portion, the blade was fairly long but thin; It has yellow spikes around the blade as if it was a cactus that was completely transformed into a katana.

The whole thing reminded me of the Sword & Shield, and It was pretty small compared to other Charge-Blades, it was easily the size of a Teostra Sword & Shield – also known as the Teostra's Emblem.

"The size is rather unique," I state out loud.

Wayland laughs before responding. "Yup! It's more of a dodge and only blocks when needed type of Charge Blade. The blade also is made out of shagaru mantles, that's the reason why the blade itself is completely white, while the spikes are golden due to being made out of Deviljho spikes." Wayland explains.

"So it's like a Sword and shield," Aegis concluded.

"Yup! But it can only hold 3 charge phials." Wayland quickly added.

' _More mobility at the cost of phials, that's pretty interesting.'_

"I like it! Thank you, Wayland." I thank the man sincerely as I look up to him.

"Not a problem, Blizzy! Oh, and before I forget, unlike the Shagaru Charge-Blade, that one uses Dragon Elemental phials; while the spikes around the blade meltdown scales and armor upon constant impact." Wayland says with pride in his voice.

"Truly, Wayland, you're a god." Raito compliments the talented blacksmith.

Wayland full of confidence just laughs. "Just keep coming to my shop! I promise the finest of weapons!" As he turns towards the door he shouts. "Just give it a name, I'll be right back." He finally disappears behind the massive wooden door.

"La falla," I say out loud, the others nod in agreement. "So what were you two doing here?" I ask both the males.

"I came to buy some Rath Gleam for my gun lance, and I'm also here to take Wayland with us," Aegis explains.

"I'm just here with Aegis, plus I heard great things about this blacksmith, he sure didn't disappoint." Raito calmly responded with respect for the old man.

"Wait, Wayland is joining us?" I didn't know about this.

Aegis nods. "We need a talented blacksmith who's an expert at fixing stuff in mere hours, so I contacted Beowulf and we made Wayland the headmaster of our guild's smither."

I was honestly surprised and impressed. "Well, I guess we'll leave once Wayland is ready."

As we walk towards the guild, I can't help but notice that the Charge-Blade is pretty light compared to my old one – without a doubt, it was meant for having more mobility.

I was currently in between both Raito and Aegis, as we walked towards the guild.

Wayland was marching behind, he was carrying two boxes filled with certain materials and tools.

I look over to Raito, who was currently walking in silence. "Do you have everything you need for the trip?" I ask him.

He nods. "Yea, Of course, I do. What about you?" He questions me back with a light smile.

"I'm prepared, I just need to pack everything I need tonight."

I look over to Aegis, who catches my glance. "Yea, I'm set as well." He responded.

Soon enough we walk by the park, and luckily, the children are still playing happily.  
It was almost sunset but I'm sure they will all go home before nightfall, or an adult will call them in.

Sussie spots me and waves, the other children soon notice and also wave back. I return the gesture as I continue walking.  
Aegis and Raito gave me confused looks but decided to not push the matter any further.

* * *

We reach the Guild and entered our 'beloved' mess hall.

"What in the world..." I say out loud as I watch what was going on.

Hunters everywhere, celebrating like wild animals.

I scan the mess hall and in the center, I see a table that was completely clean and untouched by the chaos, at that table, Jenny and Lucas were sitting patiently.

"You might want to wait out here, Wayland," I tell the blacksmith before looking at the other two males next to me.

Aegis, Raito and I just look shocked at what's going on – we nod to each other slowly and make our way towards the center, where Lucas and Jenny were currently sitting.

Once we reach the table, we sit down, I quickly address the Mohran in the room.

"Care to explain what is going on?" I ask the two who are currently either embarrass at what's going on or just down right scared.

Jenny and Lucas look at each other before Lucas answers my question.

"The entire guild knows of our trip and is now doing a departure party for us," Lucas explains with shame in his voice.

"Stupid, Beowulf, he just took it as an excuse to party all night." Jenny curses.

Wayland walks up to our table. "Best to just have fun for tonight then!" He laughs loudly.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt..." I let out a sigh as I give in, the damage was already done to the majority of the guild members.

We spent about a few hours eating and drinking – I only had one drink since that's all I would be able to healthily handle. The guys, however … I lost count, they started betting and usually they can handle this much drinks, however, I believe they went a bit overboard.

Jenny only drank two cups of beer and was eating happily for free at our table.

I rub my forehead, trying to get the dizziness out of me. "Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have drank that cup." I scold myself as I proceed to drink a bit of my water.

I look over next to me and I believe Aegis has had enough, he was no longer keeping up with Lucas and Raito who are clearly fine with drinking barrels of alcohol somehow.

Aegis mumbles something and lays his head on my shoulder.

I rub his back softly and tell him to sit up, he nods and I hand him my cup of water.

"I just don't understand how they do it." Aegis proclaims as he drinks the water I offer him.

I laugh as I shrug at his question. "You're asking me? I feel like passing out with just one cup." I remind him.

Aegis laughs and points at an almost naked Hunter laying down on the floor.

"At least you can beat that guy." Aegis jokes, I just shrug and look over to Jenny.

"Want to head to our rooms, Jenny?" I ask her.

She nods "Sure! But in a bit, this food amazing!" She continues eating with gusto.

Aegis leans on me again, he was obviously tired.

"We all agreed to sleep early. Yet, here we are, awake at midnight." I mutter, I also felt movement on my shoulder so I just assume Aegis was nodding in agreement.

…

Jenny and I decided to bring Aegis along with us, all three of us walked up the stairs towards the female dorms. Aegis was completely silent on the way up, probably focusing on not passing out as we walk up the stairs.

Soon enough we reach my room, and I welcome both of them inside.

"Can I sleep in your room, Jenny?" I ask her.

"Uh sure, but what about Aegis?" Jenny pointed to the brunette that was close to passing out.

"Just lay Aegis on my bed."

Aegis mutters something about not wanting to sleep in my room but quickly passes out when he feels the softness of the bed.

"Meowster?" A sleepy Felyne walks up to me.

"Sorry for waking you up, Momo, but can you go with Jenny to her room?" Momo simply nods at my instructions.

"Alright, just let me pack my things. We'll wake up early and get Aegis to pack his things as well if he hasn't done so already." I say the plan out loud.

"Sounds good," Jenny says. "I'll leave my door open, just enter when you're done – I need to pack my things as well," Jenny says as she leaves the room, Momo follows closely behind.

I focus on packing my stuff, which consisted of clothes, zenny, tools, armor, and my newly made Charge-Blade.

Before I left my room, I made sure I wasn't missing anything and tucked in Aegis properly so he wouldn't randomly fall off the bed.  
I quietly bring my stuff over into Jenny's room after locking my door, closing the door behind me was enough to alert Jenny of my presence.

"Alright, Liz, I'll take the left side of the bed! Oh, and put your stuff in the closet." Jenny says this from across the room.

"Understood," I put down my stuff where Jenny said. "Guess we'll take turns on showering."

Jenny rushes into the bathroom. "I'm first!"

I just shake my head. ' _Full of energy like always.'_

I couldn't see Momo when I looked around for her, so I simply assumed she went underneath the bed and was already sleeping.

We eventually took our turns on showering and got ready for bed.  
It didn't take long for us to fall into a deep slumber upon laying on the bed, tomorrow will be a different day and the start of a completely new adventure.

* * *

 **AN:** We have finally reached the end of the Introduction _Arc,_ and now we're heading into the Main Arc - Kuraun Hunters!

Keep in mind that this will be a separate story (With the same characters and backstory by the way), so it'll have a different link and everything, in other words; this story will have the 'complete' status.

One last thing before I sign off: I would like to thank my personal friends for supporting this story and adding in their own characters.

The character Aegis: He belongs to a close friend of mine, so all rights and credits go to him when it comes to that character's personality and actions.

Jenny: Once again, the creator is a close friend of mine and I would love to continue working with said, individual.

Lucas: The creator of this character was an amazing person, they were a big fan of certain games, and thus why this character has many small references to said series.

Wayland, Raito, Blizzard, Momo, Flora, Elwind: All of these characters were created from my own little mind, along with Yselz and the entire plot for this series.

New characters will appear in the next Arc, and I'll give full credit to their owners once they appear! Many of the weapons in the Monster Hunter series will be given an explanation of how they work, even if it may sound too fantasy, at least it gives them a certain depth of detail as to how they function.  
I'll also be giving credit to those who helped me out on explaining such weapons, but as for now, the only weapon that has gotten an in-depth explanation is Dual-Blades - which was created by me.

That'll be all! I hope to see everyone again in the next story it should be up on the 21th of November 2016.


End file.
